When to Plant Corn in Harlan, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Harlan should be looked at to determine when to plant corn.


Planting Calendar for Corn

Frost tolerance for corn: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since corn do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant corn in Harlan is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your corn may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your corn indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Harlan and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Harlan you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your corn if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harlan

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 Harlan

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