There is a frost advisory tonight for a handful of counties in northeast Iowa- essentially those counties east of Cedar Rapids to the Mississippi and north of Cedar Rapids to the Minnesota border.
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Click here to see which ones). That means the first frost isn't far away for the rest of Iowa, too.
October 10 is the average first frost date for north central, northeast, and southwest Iowa. (Isn't that interesting how it's not simply northern Iowa? It's all about terrain.) October 15 is the first average frost date for most of the rest of Iowa. And it's October 20 for southeast Iowa. (
Click here for a listing of average first frost dates by city for Iowa.)
When frost threatens, pick all your tomatoes, harvest your basil, and cover up any annuals you want to keep for a few more days or even a couple more weeks, depending on how cold it gets.
Click here to read more about what to do when frost threatens in your area!
Happy Gardening,
Veronica Lorson Fowler
