Soybean · Kansas City, Missouri, United States

When to plant soybeans in Kansas City

Main outdoor window

29 Apr - 20 May

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

15 April

In Kansas City, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

23 Jul - 27 Aug

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Cautious Balanced Bold

Step by step in Kansas City

Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.

Sow direct

29 Apr - 20 May

Two weeks after your last frost.

Harvest

23 Jul - 27 Aug

Frost tolerance

Tender

Damaged below

0°C (32°F)

Days to maturity

85–120

Min soil temp

15°C (59°F)

Spacing

10 cm

Sowing depth

30 mm (1.2 in)

Sun

Full

Soybeans through the year

Against the frost risk in Kansas City

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Soybeans

Frost risk Sow direct Harvest Today

Why these dates

Sow two weeks after the last frost into warm soil. Varieties are grouped by maturity for a given latitude, and a variety from the wrong group will either flower far too early or fail to finish at all - this matters more with soybeans than with almost any other crop.

No frost tolerance. Killed at 0C at both ends of the season.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Soybeans are timed for direct sowing 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Kansas City.

The median frost-free season here is 195 days, against 85 to 120 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Kansas City →

Nearby

Soybeans in places close by

Kansas City 5 km Overland Park 15 km Olathe 32 km Columbia 195 km Springfield 238 km

Also in Kansas City

Other grains to time

Chickpeas half hardy Winter wheat very hardy Quinoa half hardy Cowpeas tender Spring wheat hardy Lentils hardy Buckwheat tender Mung beans tender Oats hardy Barley hardy Rye very hardy

Growing soybeans in Kansas City

When should I plant soybeans in Kansas City?

Aim for 29 Apr - 20 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 6-27 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When will soybeans be ready to harvest in Kansas City?

Expect to start picking around 23 Jul - 27 Aug, based on 85 to 120 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.

How much frost will soybeans tolerate?

No frost tolerance. Killed at 0C at both ends of the season.