Ford, KS 67842 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Ford, KS?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/21, roughly 236 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/20, about 179 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 Ford, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Ford 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
04/21 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/07 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Ford compares
At roughly 179 frost-free days, Ford places 25,505 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within KS, it ranks 563 of 745.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6b and Ford's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Ford's dates instead of trusting one.