When to Plant Tomatos in Fort Atkinson, WI

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Fort Atkinson should be reviewed to determine when it's possible to plant tomatos.


Planting Calendar for Tomatos

Frost tolerance for tomatos: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Since tomatos do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tomatos
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tomatos
Probably not a good time to plant tomatos

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Fort Atkinson is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tomatos and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Atkinson the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fort Atkinson is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Atkinson there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your tomatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Atkinson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Atkinson

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Atkinson.