When to plant in West Milwaukee, WI

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

Last spring frost

Early · riskyApr 109 years in 10 still get a later frost
TypicalApr 22about half of years get a later frost
Safe to plant outMay 41 year in 10 gets a later frost

Hardy crops like peas and spinach are timed from the typical date. Wait for the safe date before planting out tomatoes, peppers and squash.

First fall frost

EarlyOct 61 year in 10 has frost by then
TypicalOct 23about half of years have had frost
LateNov 89 years in 10 have had frost by then

A typical year has 181 frost-free days. Plan for tender crops to be ripe by the early date.

Station used: Milwaukee Mitchell Ap · 8.5 km away · station 203 m, town 200 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 15 – Mar 29	May 10 – May 24	Jul 4
Sweet pepper	Mar 1 – Mar 15	May 10 – May 24	Jul 9
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 2 – Mar 9	Apr 6 – Apr 20	May 16
Peas	—	Apr 6 – May 4	May 31
Bush beans	—	May 5 – May 26	Jun 24
Carrot	—	Apr 18 – May 30	Jun 17
Beet	—	Apr 18 – May 30	Jun 7
Potato	—	Apr 18 – May 9	Jun 27
Kale	Mar 2 – Mar 16	Apr 13 – Apr 27	May 26
Broccoli	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 5
Cucumber	Apr 12 – Apr 19	May 10 – May 24	Jun 29
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 12 – Apr 19	May 10 – May 24	Jun 24
Winter squash	Apr 12 – Apr 19	May 10 – May 24	Jul 29
Sweet corn	—	May 5 – May 26	Jul 4
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jul 5
Garlic	—	Oct 8 – Nov 5 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 6 – May 4	May 14
Basil	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 10 – May 24	Jul 6

Plan all 65 crops for West Milwaukee

West Milwaukee'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 3
1940	May 4
1941	Apr 25
1942	Apr 13
1943	May 1
1944	Apr 19
1945	May 9
1946	Apr 27
1947	May 10
1948	May 8
1949	Apr 25
1950	Apr 21
1951	Apr 20
1952	Apr 12
1953	Apr 21
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	May 5
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 13
1961	May 27
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 15
1965	Apr 27
1966	May 12
1967	May 6
1968	May 6
1969	Apr 30
1970	May 7
1971	May 4
1972	Apr 26
1973	May 5
1974	May 10
1975	Apr 21
1976	Apr 28
1977	Apr 29
1978	May 3
1979	Apr 17
1980	Apr 26
1981	Apr 21
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 17
1984	Apr 8
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 23
1987	Apr 4
1988	Apr 21
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 11
1992	Apr 28
1993	Apr 21
1994	Apr 30
1995	Apr 9
1996	May 13
1997	May 16
1998	Apr 10
1999	Apr 25
2000	Apr 12
2001	Apr 18
2002	May 4
2003	Apr 24
2004	May 3
2005	Apr 29
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 30
2009	Apr 22
2010	Apr 28
2011	Apr 18
2012	Apr 12
2013	Apr 21
2014	Apr 16
2015	Apr 24
2016	Apr 12
2017	Mar 29
2018	Apr 29
2019	Apr 28
2020	May 9
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 27
2023	Apr 17
2024	Apr 25

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1939	163
1940	185
1941	184
1942	163
1943	185
1944	185
1945	152
1946	168
1947	143
1948	161
1949	181
1950	196
1951	170
1952	173
1953	196
1954	174
1955	197
1956	142
1957	159
1958	154
1959	185
1960	159
1961	124
1962	185
1963	159
1964	173
1965	183
1966	142
1967	157
1968	151
1969	166
1970	174
1971	160
1972	173
1973	182
1974	134
1975	190
1976	171
1977	166
1978	163
1979	178
1980	161
1981	164
1982	171
1983	165
1984	198
1985	222
1986	192
1987	186
1988	173
1989	163
1990	183
1991	190
1992	171
1993	171
1994	202
1995	166
1996	169
1997	158
1998	207
1999	181
2000	177
2001	170
2002	164
2003	160
2004	154
2005	194
2006	185
2007	200
2008	181
2009	170
2010	176
2011	193
2012	197
2013	183
2014	196
2015	197
2016	213
2017	221
2018	166
2019	183
2020	167
2021	193
2022	199
2023	195
2024	208

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1938	16.3 °C
1939	16.6 °C
1940	15.1 °C
1941	17.5 °C
1942	16.4 °C
1943	15.9 °C
1944	16.6 °C
1945	15.2 °C
1946	15.9 °C
1947	15.8 °C
1948	17.1 °C
1949	17.1 °C
1950	15.0 °C
1951	15.5 °C
1952	17.1 °C
1953	16.9 °C
1954	16.8 °C
1955	18.5 °C
1956	15.8 °C
1957	15.8 °C
1958	15.9 °C
1959	17.5 °C
1960	15.5 °C
1961	15.8 °C
1962	15.7 °C
1963	15.8 °C
1964	16.8 °C
1965	15.8 °C
1966	15.4 °C
1967	15.3 °C
1968	16.6 °C
1969	15.6 °C
1970	16.9 °C
1971	15.5 °C
1972	15.2 °C
1973	16.6 °C
1974	15.2 °C
1975	15.8 °C
1976	16.9 °C
1977	17.0 °C
1978	16.2 °C
1979	16.1 °C
1980	16.1 °C
1981	15.3 °C
1982	15.5 °C
1983	16.7 °C
1984	17.0 °C
1985	17.3 °C
1986	16.6 °C
1987	18.2 °C
1988	18.3 °C
1989	15.9 °C
1990	17.2 °C
1991	18.8 °C
1992	15.5 °C
1993	16.6 °C
1994	18.0 °C
1995	17.9 °C
1996	16.0 °C
1997	15.1 °C
1998	17.8 °C
1999	17.5 °C
2000	16.4 °C
2001	17.3 °C
2002	17.4 °C
2003	16.1 °C
2004	16.2 °C
2005	18.1 °C
2006	17.6 °C
2007	17.5 °C
2008	16.8 °C
2009	16.4 °C
2010	18.7 °C
2011	16.9 °C
2012	18.6 °C
2013	16.7 °C
2014	16.1 °C
2015	16.9 °C
2016	18.3 °C
2017	18.0 °C
2018	17.6 °C
2019	17.4 °C
2020	17.7 °C
2021	19.0 °C
2022	18.2 °C
2023	18.3 °C
2024	18.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1939, West Milwaukee's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

West Allis Wauwatosa Milwaukee Greenfield Greendale Saint Francis