Last Frost Date: When Is It Time To Plant A Garden In New Berlin?

NEW BERLIN, WI — Between rising inflation, the increasing cost of food, and the nutritional benefits of homegrown produce, a new crop of home gardeners is being cultivated in New Berlin.

Whether it's your first-time planting or you have some considerable experience, one of the most important dates to know as you think about your garden this spring is: when does the danger of frost pass in New Berlin?

It’s April 30, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which offers a ZIP code tool to help gardeners figure out when to plant what.

The growing season is 163 days long in New Berlin. Looking ahead to fall, the first frost usually occurs around Oct. 11.

According to the publication, there’s a 30 percent probability of a frost occurring after April 30, as the date is determined using National Oceanic and Atmospheric historical data from 1981-2010, and is not “set in stone,” The Old Farmer’s Almanac said.

April 30 represents the average date of the final “light freeze,” which occurs when the temperature dips between 29 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, tender plants can be killed.

A “moderate freeze,” between 25 and 28 degrees, is destructive to most plants; and a “severe freeze,” at anything under 24 degrees, can do heavy damage to most garden plants, according to the almanac.

As the pandemic’s third gardening season gets underway in New Berlin, The Old Farmer's Almanac has another tool to help gardeners decide when to plant which crops.

In New Berlin, it’s usually best to start planting seeds for corn on April 30, potatoes as early as April 23, and spinach as early as March 19.

Here’s a look at other crops, and when the Old Farmer’s Almanac says to begin planting them in New Berlin.

• Basil seedlings: April 30.
• Bell peppers: May 7.
• Carrots: March 26.
• Eggplants: May 14.
• Lettuce: April 16.
• Swiss chard: April 9.

Even before the pandemic, mental health experts pointed to gardening as a way to deal with stress.

Gardening provides physical exercise and promotes healthier eating, but it can also reduce worry among people who consider themselves perfectionists, psychologist Seth Gillihan said.

“Given the lack of control we have, gardening can be a good antidote for perfectionism,” Gillihan wrote in a 2019 Psychology Today blog. “No matter how carefully you plan and execute your garden, there are countless factors you can't predict — invasions by bugs, inclement weather, hungry rodents.”

With so many things out of their control, perfectionism is a waste of time, he said, so gardeners may ask themselves “why bother” trying to be perfect.