When to Plant Radishes in Fort Dodge, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Fort Dodge you will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant radishes.


Planting Calendar for Radishes

Frost tolerance for radishes: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant radishes a lot earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant radishes in Fort Dodge 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 radishes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your radishes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your radishes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Dodge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Dodge is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Dodge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your radishes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Dodge

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 Fort Dodge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Dodge.