When to plant in Bangor, WI

Planting dates worked out from Bangor's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

May 21

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 9

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 3

1 year in 10 by Sep 23

Frost-free days

144

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Sparta · 14.7 km away · station 238 m, town 223 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Bangor plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 15
Sweet pepper	Mar 12 – Mar 26	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 20
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 11 – Apr 25	May 21
Peas	—	Apr 9 – May 7	Jun 3
Bush beans	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 3
Carrot	—	Apr 20 – Jun 1	Jun 19
Beet	—	Apr 20 – Jun 1	Jun 9
Potato	—	Apr 20 – May 11	Jun 29
Kale	Mar 5 – Mar 19	Apr 16 – Apr 30	May 29
Broccoli	Feb 28 – Mar 14	Apr 11 – May 2	Jun 10
Cucumber	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 10
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 5
Winter squash	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Aug 9
Sweet corn	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 13
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 11 – May 2	Jul 10
Garlic	—	Sep 19 – Oct 17 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 9 – May 7	May 17
Basil	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 17

Plan all 65 crops for Bangor

Bangor's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1893	May 4
1937	May 14
1938	Apr 22
1939	May 12
1940	May 17
1941	Apr 22
1942	May 16
1943	May 14
1944	May 6
1945	Jun 4
1946	May 13
1947	May 29
1948	May 8
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 6
1951	May 11
1952	May 29
1953	May 13
1954	May 20
1955	Apr 17
1956	May 24
1957	May 5
1958	May 9
1959	May 15
1960	May 12
1961	May 26
1962	Apr 23
1963	May 23
1964	Jun 1
1965	May 29
1966	May 10
1967	May 22
1968	May 10
1969	May 12
1970	May 6
1971	May 27
1972	May 31
1973	May 17
1974	May 13
1975	May 16
1976	May 18
1977	May 10
1978	May 10
1979	May 25
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 26
1985	May 2
1987	May 5
1988	Apr 30
1991	May 3
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 26
1994	May 27
1995	May 6
1996	May 13
1997	May 21
1998	Apr 29
1999	Apr 25
2000	May 19
2001	Apr 18
2002	May 21
2003	May 21
2004	May 5
2005	May 4
2006	May 22
2007	Apr 16
2008	May 12
2009	May 17
2010	May 10
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 27
2013	May 13
2014	May 17
2015	May 13
2016	May 18
2017	May 7
2018	Apr 30
2019	May 10
2020	May 13
2021	May 29
2022	May 23
2023	May 26

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	142
1937	134
1938	180
1939	136
1940	130
1941	159
1942	131
1943	125
1944	157
1945	116
1946	138
1947	118
1948	147
1949	157
1950	140
1951	140
1952	126
1953	122
1954	139
1955	146
1956	118
1957	144
1958	141
1959	125
1960	143
1961	122
1962	149
1963	112
1964	103
1965	120
1966	127
1967	129
1968	146
1969	138
1970	144
1971	132
1972	113
1973	123
1974	112
1975	119
1976	126
1977	145
1978	150
1979	134
1983	119
1985	147
1991	138
1992	139
1993	156
1994	135
1995	139
1996	142
1997	146
1998	167
1999	159
2000	128
2001	159
2002	138
2003	130
2004	149
2005	156
2006	142
2007	151
2008	144
2009	135
2010	145
2011	148
2012	148
2013	153
2014	139
2015	141
2016	142
2017	161
2018	151
2019	154
2020	143
2021	140
2022	127
2023	137

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	15.4 °C
1937	18.2 °C
1938	17.4 °C
1939	18.6 °C
1940	17.3 °C
1941	19.1 °C
1943	17.1 °C
1944	17.5 °C
1945	16.0 °C
1946	16.8 °C
1947	16.8 °C
1948	17.7 °C
1949	17.7 °C
1950	15.3 °C
1951	15.8 °C
1952	17.2 °C
1953	16.7 °C
1954	16.9 °C
1955	18.8 °C
1956	16.4 °C
1957	16.9 °C
1958	16.6 °C
1959	17.9 °C
1960	16.9 °C
1961	16.3 °C
1962	16.6 °C
1963	17.1 °C
1964	17.8 °C
1965	16.4 °C
1966	16.2 °C
1967	15.7 °C
1968	16.8 °C
1969	16.6 °C
1970	17.4 °C
1971	16.8 °C
1972	16.4 °C
1973	16.8 °C
1974	16.2 °C
1975	16.1 °C
1976	16.1 °C
1977	17.2 °C
1978	16.1 °C
1979	15.4 °C
1983	16.6 °C
1985	16.9 °C
1991	17.2 °C
1992	15.2 °C
1993	15.4 °C
1994	16.7 °C
1995	16.8 °C
1996	15.5 °C
1997	15.7 °C
1998	17.8 °C
1999	17.5 °C
2000	16.7 °C
2001	17.5 °C
2002	17.2 °C
2003	16.9 °C
2004	16.2 °C
2005	18.1 °C
2006	17.5 °C
2007	17.7 °C
2008	16.5 °C
2009	16.1 °C
2010	17.9 °C
2011	16.7 °C
2012	18.2 °C
2013	16.3 °C
2014	15.8 °C
2015	16.9 °C
2016	17.1 °C
2017	16.5 °C
2018	16.5 °C
2019	16.2 °C
2020	16.2 °C
2021	17.1 °C
2022	16.2 °C
2023	17.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Bangor's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Sparta (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

West Salem Sparta Portland Onalaska North La Crosse French Island