When to plant tomatoes in Milwaukee: 19 May – 12 July

In Milwaukee, tomato: sow for seedlings from 7 March to 21 May; plant into a greenhouse from 28 April to 12 July; plant out into open ground from 19 May to 12 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Fred's Garden Center (garden centre, 8 km) and Stein's Garden and Home (garden centre, 11 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Milwaukee: soil, season and weather

In Milwaukee the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 27 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 19 May, 22 days later.

Last spring frost	27 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	19 May, 22 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	28 April – 12 July; April outside: 2.7 °C at night, 12.5 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	1 November, 166 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	28 July – 20 September
Days left for picking	96
Daylight	12:31 on 28 March, 14:47 on 19 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 7 rainy days

Tomato in Milwaukee: care after planting

Planted on 19 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

19 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
16 June — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of tomato to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Milwaukee during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in July (27.6 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (8.2 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May, June and September–November (0.9–15.2 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	18.7	8.8	113	13	14:38
June	25.4	15.2	116	12	15:21
July	27.6	18.3	90	10	15:04
August	26.7	17.8	81	10	13:59
September	23.4	14.9	91	10	12:33
October	16.2	8.3	98	10	11:06
November	8.2	0.9	50	7	9:45

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Milwaukee, Chicago is 10 days earlier and Traverse City 8 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Madison	121 km	16 May – 7 July	3 days earlier
Rockford	128 km	13 May – 8 July	6 days earlier
Chicago	131 km	9 May – 17 July	10 days earlier
Green Bay	165 km	19 May – 10 July	same day
Grand Rapids	182 km	15 May – 14 July	4 days earlier
Traverse City	266 km	27 May – 20 July	8 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Milwaukee

Buy plants ready to set out from 19 May to 12 July (from 28 April to 12 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 7 March to 21 May. Within 15 km of Milwaukee OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 10 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Bluemel's Garden and Landscape Center — garden centre
West Loomis Road 4930, 53220 Greenfield · Mon–Sat 07:00–18:00 · 11 km · bluemels.com
Fred's Garden Center — garden centre
West Appleton Avenue 6238, 53210 Milwaukee · Mon–Sat 10:00–14:00 · 8 km
Minor's Garden Center — garden centre
North 76th Street 7777, Milwaukee · 15 km · minorsgardencenter.com
Stein's Garden and Home — garden centre
South 27th Street 5400, 53221 Milwaukee · 11 km

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

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