USDA Hardiness Zone 4b
Frost Dates for 54646 — Necedah, Wisconsin
Averages from Necedah, Wi US, the nearest reporting station, 2.2 miles away.
Plant tender crops after May 17, and expect the first autumn freeze around September 25. That leaves about 131 frost-free days.
- Last spring frost
- May 17
- First fall frost
- September 25
- Growing season
- 131 days
- Hardiness zone
- 4b
50% probability
50% probability
frost-free
-25 to -20°F annual low
- First snow
- November 28
- Last snow
- April 5
- Winters with snow
- 95%
- Snow per year
- 34.1"
median, 1991–2020
median, 1991–2020
20 of 21 observed
NOAA normal
When it snows in Necedah, Wisconsin
The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Necedah, Wisconsin usually arrives around November 28, and the last of the season around April 5. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Necedah, Wi US: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Snow fell in 95% of those winters.
For a gardener, snow matters less than frost: a light snow on frozen ground changes nothing, while a hard frost on an unprotected bed ends the season. Use the frost dates above for planting and the snow dates for getting hoses drained, mulch down and tender pots indoors.
Planting calendar for 54646
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| March 8 – March 22 | Start peppers and aubergines indoors They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out. |
| March 22 – April 5 | Start tomatoes indoors Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early. |
| April 19 – May 3 | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil. |
| May 17 onward | Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast. |
| by July 3 | Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops. |
| by September 11 | Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation. |
| September 25 onward | Plant garlic, mulch beds, lift tender bulbs Garlic wants a cold spell; bare soil loses structure over winter. |
What these dates mean
Wait until after May 17 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Necedah, Wisconsin are past their last freeze. Harvest before September 25, which leaves roughly 131 frost-free days.
ZIP 54646 sits in USDA hardiness zone 4b, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between -25 to -20°F. Zone decides what survives the winter; frost dates decide when to plant each spring. They are different questions, and a plant can pass one and fail the other.
These are thirty-year NOAA averages for 1991–2020, not a forecast. Any individual year can frost two to three weeks either side of these dates, so check the actual forecast before planting out.