Fonda, IA 50540 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Fonda, IA?
Around 04/26 is the usual last spring frost, about 241 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/07, about 164 frost-free days later.
Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Fonda, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Fonda before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/11 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Fonda compares
At roughly 164 frost-free days, Fonda places 31,102 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 611 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Fonda's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Fonda's dates instead of trusting one.