USDA Hardiness Zone 7b
Frost Dates for 63845 — East Prairie, Missouri
Averages from New Madrid, Mo US, the nearest reporting station, 14.4 miles away.
Plant tender crops after March 28, and expect the first autumn freeze around November 3. That leaves about 220 frost-free days.
- Last spring frost
- March 28
- First fall frost
- November 3
- Growing season
- 220 days
- Hardiness zone
- 7b
50% probability
50% probability
frost-free
5 to 10°F annual low
Planting calendar for 63845
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| January 17 – January 31 | Start peppers and aubergines indoors They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out. |
| January 31 – February 14 | Start tomatoes indoors Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early. |
| February 28 – March 14 | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil. |
| March 28 onward | Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast. |
| by August 11 | Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops. |
| by October 20 | Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation. |
| November 3 onward | Plant garlic, mulch beds, lift tender bulbs Garlic wants a cold spell; bare soil loses structure over winter. |
What these dates mean
Wait until after March 28 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in East Prairie, Missouri are past their last freeze. Harvest before November 3, which leaves roughly 220 frost-free days.
ZIP 63845 sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between 5 to 10°F. Zone decides what survives the winter; frost dates decide when to plant each spring. They are different questions, and a plant can pass one and fail the other.
These are thirty-year NOAA averages for 1991–2020, not a forecast. Any individual year can frost two to three weeks either side of these dates, so check the actual forecast before planting out.