Mankato, MN 56001 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Mankato, MN?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/30, roughly 245 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/09, about 161 frost-free days later.
Mankato sits in USDA Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Mankato before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Mankato's last frost
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/16 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/12 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Mankato compares
Mankato's growing season runs about 161 days, ranking 31,942 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MN, it ranks 195 of 943.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Mankato's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Mankato can differ from the 56001 normal.