Marble Rock, IA 50653 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Marble Rock, IA?
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/06, about 157 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Marble Rock in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Marble Rock before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Marble Rock's last frost
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/15 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Marble Rock compares
At roughly 157 frost-free days, Marble Rock places 33,455 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 853 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Marble Rock's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Marble Rock's dates instead of trusting one.