When to plant in Chilton, WI

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

Safe to plant out

May 22

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 6

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 11

1 year in 10 by Sep 30

Frost-free days

158

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Chilton · 1.3 km away · station 256 m, town 275 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 27 – Apr 10	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 16
Sweet pepper	Mar 13 – Mar 27	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 21
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 8 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 22
Peas	—	Apr 12 – May 10	Jun 6
Bush beans	—	May 15 – Jun 5	Jul 4
Carrot	—	Apr 22 – Jun 3	Jun 21
Beet	—	Apr 22 – Jun 3	Jun 11
Potato	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jul 1
Kale	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 1
Broccoli	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – May 3	Jun 11
Cucumber	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 11
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 6
Winter squash	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Aug 10
Sweet corn	—	May 15 – Jun 5	Jul 14
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 12 – May 3	Jul 11
Garlic	—	Sep 27 – Oct 25 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 12 – May 10	May 20
Basil	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 18

Plan all 65 crops for Chilton

Chilton'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
1894	May 30
1895	May 27
1896	Apr 21
1897	May 26
1898	Apr 25
1899	Apr 15
1903	May 1
1904	May 16
1905	May 9
1906	May 20
1907	May 27
1908	May 4
1909	May 11
1945	Jun 5
1946	May 17
1947	May 29
1948	May 8
1949	Jun 8
1950	May 16
1951	May 13
1952	May 7
1953	May 15
1954	May 20
1955	May 17
1956	Jun 2
1957	May 16
1958	May 23
1959	Apr 21
1960	May 13
1961	May 23
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 23
1964	May 14
1965	May 29
1966	May 14
1967	May 22
1968	May 10
1970	May 7
1971	May 27
1972	May 9
1973	May 19
1974	May 10
1975	Apr 26
1976	May 12
1977	May 10
1978	May 3
1979	May 5
1980	May 9
1981	May 19
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 17
1984	May 14
1985	Apr 17
1986	May 3
1987	Apr 30
1988	May 25
1989	May 9
1990	May 10
1991	May 2
1992	May 24
1993	May 17
1994	May 27
1995	May 1
1996	May 14
1997	May 22
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 24
2000	Apr 30
2001	Apr 19
2002	May 21
2003	May 4
2004	May 5
2005	Apr 25
2006	May 6
2007	Apr 16
2008	May 28
2009	Apr 23
2010	May 10
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 30
2013	May 13
2014	Apr 23
2015	Apr 26
2016	May 15
2017	May 8
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 13
2021	Apr 26
2022	May 4
2023	Apr 27
2024	Apr 26
2025	Apr 17

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1895	125
1896	153
1897	135
1898	170
1903	160
1904	127
1905	154
1906	142
1907	125
1908	149
1909	137
1945	115
1946	136
1948	147
1949	112
1950	130
1951	138
1952	148
1953	144
1954	139
1955	136
1956	109
1957	133
1958	130
1959	180
1960	157
1961	128
1962	161
1963	158
1964	136
1965	120
1966	134
1967	142
1968	147
1970	161
1971	157
1972	152
1973	123
1974	134
1975	158
1976	132
1977	149
1978	157
1979	161
1980	146
1981	135
1982	170
1983	129
1984	134
1985	176
1986	159
1987	155
1988	132
1989	136
1990	154
1991	146
1992	121
1993	135
1994	136
1995	144
1996	141
1997	147
1998	176
1999	162
2000	159
2001	170
2002	145
2003	150
2004	152
2005	167
2006	158
2007	194
2008	128
2009	160
2010	146
2011	171
2012	164
2013	161
2014	178
2015	173
2016	151
2017	173
2018	165
2019	178
2020	156
2021	178
2022	167
2023	185
2024	189
2025	189

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	17.7 °C
1895	17.7 °C
1896	18.2 °C
1897	16.2 °C
1898	16.4 °C
1899	16.9 °C
1901	17.2 °C
1902	14.9 °C
1903	15.1 °C
1904	15.1 °C
1905	16.0 °C
1906	16.9 °C
1907	14.1 °C
1908	16.7 °C
1909	15.1 °C
1945	15.6 °C
1946	15.8 °C
1947	16.2 °C
1948	17.5 °C
1949	17.1 °C
1950	14.8 °C
1951	15.6 °C
1952	17.1 °C
1953	16.6 °C
1954	15.9 °C
1955	18.4 °C
1956	15.7 °C
1957	16.4 °C
1958	16.2 °C
1959	17.8 °C
1960	16.5 °C
1961	16.4 °C
1962	16.4 °C
1963	16.7 °C
1964	17.2 °C
1965	16.0 °C
1966	15.9 °C
1967	15.6 °C
1968	16.6 °C
1970	17.6 °C
1971	16.5 °C
1973	16.4 °C
1974	15.9 °C
1975	16.6 °C
1976	16.8 °C
1977	17.6 °C
1978	16.4 °C
1979	15.7 °C
1980	17.0 °C
1983	16.4 °C
1984	16.1 °C
1985	16.9 °C
1986	17.1 °C
1987	18.3 °C
1988	18.5 °C
1989	15.5 °C
1990	15.5 °C
1991	17.2 °C
1992	14.3 °C
1993	15.0 °C
1994	16.1 °C
1995	16.5 °C
1996	15.0 °C
1997	14.8 °C
1998	17.6 °C
1999	17.2 °C
2000	16.1 °C
2001	17.1 °C
2002	16.6 °C
2003	15.7 °C
2004	15.6 °C
2005	17.6 °C
2006	17.0 °C
2007	17.3 °C
2008	16.1 °C
2009	15.8 °C
2010	17.3 °C
2011	16.0 °C
2012	17.4 °C
2013	16.2 °C
2014	15.9 °C
2015	17.0 °C
2016	17.0 °C
2017	16.8 °C
2018	16.8 °C
2019	16.1 °C
2020	16.5 °C
2021	17.2 °C
2022	16.4 °C
2023	16.5 °C
2024	16.9 °C
2025	16.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Chilton's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

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