Geneva, IA 50633 Frost Dates
Geneva, IA: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/28, roughly 243 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/10, roughly 164 days after the last spring frost.
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 Geneva, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 6 weeks until Geneva's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/28 isn't a guarantee
04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/13 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/11 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Geneva against the rest of the dataset
Geneva's growing season runs about 164 days, ranking 31,232 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 645 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 50633's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Geneva's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Geneva can differ from the 50633 normal.