When to plant in Holmen, WI

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

Safe to plant out

May 9

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 26

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 13

1 year in 10 by Oct 1

Frost-free days

170

median, 1991–2020

Station used: La Crosse Muni Ap · 9.4 km away · station 198 m, town 215 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Holmen plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 14 – Mar 28	May 9 – May 23	Jul 3
Sweet pepper	Feb 28 – Mar 14	May 9 – May 23	Jul 8
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 26 – Mar 5	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 12
Peas	—	Apr 2 – Apr 30	May 27
Bush beans	—	May 2 – May 23	Jun 21
Carrot	—	Apr 11 – May 23	Jun 10
Beet	—	Apr 11 – May 23	May 31
Potato	—	Apr 11 – May 2	Jun 20
Kale	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 22
Broccoli	Feb 19 – Mar 5	Apr 2 – Apr 23	Jun 1
Cucumber	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jun 28
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jun 23
Winter squash	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jul 28
Sweet corn	—	May 2 – May 23	Jul 1
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 2 – Apr 23	Jul 1
Garlic	—	Sep 29 – Oct 27 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 2 – Apr 30	May 10
Basil	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 9 – May 23	Jul 5

Plan all 65 crops for Holmen

Holmen'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
1939	May 12
1940	May 3
1941	Apr 2
1942	Apr 19
1943	May 13
1944	May 6
1945	Jun 4
1946	May 11
1947	May 28
1948	May 8
1949	Apr 24
1950	May 2
1951	Apr 22
1952	Apr 15
1953	May 13
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 21
1960	May 7
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 16
1963	May 1
1964	Apr 15
1965	May 29
1966	May 10
1967	May 12
1968	May 5
1969	Apr 29
1970	Apr 10
1971	May 27
1972	Apr 26
1973	May 4
1974	May 6
1975	Apr 22
1976	May 8
1977	Apr 8
1978	May 2
1979	Apr 10
1980	Apr 24
1981	May 10
1982	Apr 27
1983	May 15
1984	Apr 22
1985	Apr 11
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 6
1990	May 11
1991	Apr 21
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 21
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 25
1996	Apr 28
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 17
1999	Mar 27
2000	Apr 22
2001	Apr 18
2002	May 3
2003	Apr 22
2004	May 3
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 15
2010	May 9
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 17
2013	May 3
2014	Apr 18
2015	Apr 26
2016	May 15
2017	Apr 28
2018	Apr 20
2019	Apr 28
2020	May 12
2021	May 11
2022	Apr 26
2023	Apr 26
2024	Apr 24

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1939	136
1940	164
1941	205
1942	157
1943	126
1944	157
1945	115
1946	141
1947	119
1948	147
1949	156
1950	144
1951	168
1952	170
1953	166
1954	166
1955	191
1956	162
1957	178
1958	182
1959	178
1960	164
1961	148
1962	190
1963	183
1964	176
1965	127
1966	154
1967	138
1968	151
1969	171
1970	187
1971	137
1972	156
1973	182
1974	138
1975	162
1976	150
1977	187
1978	178
1979	179
1980	170
1981	144
1982	176
1983	130
1984	156
1986	175
1987	179
1988	159
1989	149
1990	152
1991	151
1992	162
1993	161
1994	183
1995	173
1996	157
1997	159
1998	179
1999	189
2000	166
2001	170
2002	164
2003	161
2004	154
2005	168
2006	184
2007	192
2008	174
2009	176
2010	146
2011	169
2012	158
2013	170
2014	174
2015	173
2016	177
2017	183
2018	175
2019	178
2020	144
2021	164
2022	174
2023	185
2024	173

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1938	17.6 °C
1939	18.2 °C
1940	16.8 °C
1941	18.6 °C
1942	16.8 °C
1943	16.6 °C
1944	17.2 °C
1945	15.3 °C
1946	16.4 °C
1947	16.6 °C
1948	18.1 °C
1949	17.8 °C
1950	15.2 °C
1951	16.5 °C
1952	17.9 °C
1953	17.3 °C
1954	17.5 °C
1955	19.5 °C
1956	17.1 °C
1957	17.4 °C
1958	17.3 °C
1959	18.4 °C
1960	17.5 °C
1961	16.9 °C
1962	16.9 °C
1963	17.7 °C
1964	18.3 °C
1965	16.1 °C
1966	17.1 °C
1967	16.6 °C
1968	17.6 °C
1969	17.5 °C
1970	17.9 °C
1971	17.0 °C
1972	17.0 °C
1973	17.3 °C
1974	16.5 °C
1975	17.1 °C
1976	17.8 °C
1977	18.7 °C
1978	17.9 °C
1979	16.9 °C
1980	19.2 °C
1981	17.8 °C
1982	17.1 °C
1983	17.5 °C
1984	17.1 °C
1985	17.6 °C
1986	18.2 °C
1987	19.2 °C
1988	19.6 °C
1989	17.5 °C
1990	18.0 °C
1991	18.9 °C
1992	16.4 °C
1993	16.5 °C
1994	17.8 °C
1995	18.5 °C
1996	17.4 °C
1997	17.3 °C
1998	19.8 °C
1999	18.7 °C
2000	17.9 °C
2001	18.4 °C
2002	18.2 °C
2003	17.9 °C
2004	17.4 °C
2005	19.1 °C
2006	18.7 °C
2007	18.9 °C
2008	17.4 °C
2009	17.1 °C
2010	19.1 °C
2011	17.8 °C
2012	19.1 °C
2013	17.9 °C
2014	17.9 °C
2015	18.9 °C
2016	19.2 °C
2017	19.2 °C
2018	18.9 °C
2019	18.7 °C
2020	18.6 °C
2021	19.7 °C
2022	18.5 °C
2023	19.3 °C
2024	19.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1939, Holmen'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 La Crosse Muni Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Brice Prairie Onalaska French Island North La Crosse Galesville La Crescent, MN