The Wisconsin Lawn Care Calendar, Month by Month
Wisconsin’s lawn calendar follows cool-season grasses, with Milwaukee’s first fall frost landing between October 17 and 29 according to NOAA’s normals.
Gardening in Wisconsin
Everything we have worked out for Wisconsin: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Milwaukee, the last spring freeze runs April 16 to April 29 and the first fall freeze runs October 17 to October 29, USDA zones 3b-6a, 2,808 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 26.1 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Wisconsin: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
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Flea beetles in Wisconsin: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Colorado potato beetle in Wisconsin: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Cabbage maggot in Wisconsin: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Aphids in Wisconsin: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Slugs in Wisconsin: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Cucumber beetles in Wisconsin: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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