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USDA Hardiness Zone 6b

Frost Dates for 67901 — Liberal, Kansas

Averages from Liberal, Ks US, the nearest reporting station, 2.8 miles away.

Plant tender crops after April 20, and expect the first autumn freeze around October 24. That leaves about 186 frost-free days.

Last spring frost
April 20

50% probability

First fall frost
October 24

50% probability

Growing season
186 days

frost-free

Hardiness zone
6b

-5 to 0°F annual low

First snow
December 4

median, 1991–2020

Last snow
March 14

median, 1991–2020

Winters with snow
100%

26 of 26 observed

Snow per year
14.4"

NOAA normal

When it snows in Liberal, Kansas

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Liberal, Kansas usually arrives around December 4, and the last of the season around March 14. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Liberal, Ks US: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Every one of those winters saw snow.

For a gardener, snow matters less than frost: a light snow on frozen ground changes nothing, while a hard frost on an unprotected bed ends the season. Use the frost dates above for planting and the snow dates for getting hoses drained, mulch down and tender pots indoors.

Planting calendar for 67901

What to do and when, based on the frost normals for Liberal, Kansas
WhenWhat to do
February 9 – February 23

Start peppers and aubergines indoors

They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out.

February 23 – March 9

Start tomatoes indoors

Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early.

March 23 – April 6

Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors

These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil.

April 20 onward

Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers

The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast.

by August 1

Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas

They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops.

by October 10

Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them

A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation.

October 24 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 April 20 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Liberal, Kansas are past their last freeze. Harvest before October 24, which leaves roughly 186 frost-free days.

ZIP 67901 sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between -5 to 0°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.

Other zone 6b ZIP codes in Kansas