When to Plant Beets in Estherville, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Estherville should be read to determine when it's a good idea to plant beets.


Planting Calendar for Beets

Frost tolerance for beets: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Beets do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant beets
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant beets
Probably not a good time to plant beets

The earliest that you can plant beets in Estherville is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant beets and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your beets may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your beets indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Estherville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Estherville and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Estherville there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your beets in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Estherville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Estherville

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Estherville.