What Grows in Woodman, Wisconsin

USDA Zones 5a · 159 acres

Woodman, Wisconsin, sits in USDA hardiness zone 5a — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

The conditions favor cabbage, cranberry, lavender, and collard greens, among others — though every individual site edits that list with its own soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Woodman, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Woodman lot. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

We read public map data around Woodman — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Woodman — the short answer

Woodman, Wisconsin: USDA zone 5a, about 187 days between hard freezes, across 159 acres of town.

USDA zone
5a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 16
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 20
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~187
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
159 acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. Hard-freeze dates are this town’s own 28°F normals: light frosts run a few weeks past them, and tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks after the last hard freeze.

Hardiness Zone Range

5a5a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 5a is Woodman's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Woodman's 187-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Woodman

Each reading below is measured for Woodman itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Season length

Measured

Woodman runs about 187 days between hard freezes — a moderate growing season.

There is room for the full run of cool-season crops plus a warm-season main crop, but the calendar is tight enough that a late spring or early fall frost still decides how much finishes.

Time warm-season transplants to your last hard freeze, and a few weeks of season extension turns a near-miss harvest into a sure one.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Woodman sits in USDA hardiness zone 5a.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Woodman is in

Woodman sits in the Driftless Area — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Woodman's own centroid rather than borrowed from Grant County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Woodman

Every plant below cleared Woodman's own zone 5a and its 187-day season. Each card opens that plant's Wisconsin profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in WisconsinZones 2–11Woodman's 5a — 3 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Wisconsin cranberry guideZones 2–7Woodman's 5a — 3 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in WisconsinZones 5–8Woodman's 5a is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Wisconsin growing notesZones 2–11Woodman's 5a — 3 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Growing hazelnut in WisconsinZones 4–9Woodman's 5a — 1 zone of cold margin.
French tarragon, photograph
Wisconsin french tarragon guideZones 3–7Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in WisconsinZones 2–10Woodman's 5a — 3 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Blueberry: Wisconsin growing notesZones 3–8Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in WisconsinZones 3–8Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Wisconsin kale guideZones 2–11Woodman's 5a — 3 zones of cold margin.
apple, photograph
Apple in WisconsinZones 3–8Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Wisconsin growing notesZones 2–11Woodman's 187 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Growing okra in WisconsinZones 2–12Woodman's 187 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Wisconsin potato guideZones 2–11Woodman's 5a — 3 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in WisconsinZones 3–11Woodman's 187 days clear the ~40 it needs.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Wisconsin growing notesZones 3–8Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in WisconsinZones 2–11Woodman's 187 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Wisconsin azalea guideZones 4–8Woodman's 5a — 1 zone of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in WisconsinZones 3–8Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Wisconsin growing notesZones 3–10Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in WisconsinWoodman's 187 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Wisconsin lilac guideZones 4–10Woodman's 5a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in WisconsinZones 3–8Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Canada anemone, photograph
Canada anemone: Wisconsin growing notesZones 3–8Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in WisconsinZones 3–9Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Wisconsin alfalfa guideZones 2–10Woodman's 187 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in WisconsinZones 2–7Woodman's 5a — 3 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Wisconsin growing notesZones 2–8Woodman's 5a — 3 zones of cold margin.
annual ryegrass, photograph
Growing annual ryegrass in WisconsinZones 3–10Woodman's 187 days clear the ~90 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Wisconsin canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Woodman's 5a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Woodman?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 19; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 16 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 20 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Late in the year the fall bench takes over — quick greens, radishes, and garlic that repays you next summer.

What's on the federal record near Woodman

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Woodman. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. GR-07/04W/12-0064Nitrate · 1500 ft
  2. Woodman Country StoreUnderground Storage Tanks · 1600 ft
  3. BEDWARDS GARAGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1900 ft
  4. ROTH FEEDER PIG INCCAFO · 1.3 mi
  5. MILK SPECIALTIES COUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.7 mi
  6. L & MS IN AND OUTUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.9 mi
  7. GR-07/03W/30-0092Nitrate · 3.0 mi
  8. ALS SERVICE STATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.9 mi
  9. Marion Township ShopUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.0 mi
  10. MILK SPECIALTIES GLOBAL - BOSCOBELToxics Release Inventory · 4.2 mi
  11. VILLAGE OF WAUZEKAUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.2 mi
  12. John LathropUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.2 mi

6 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Woodman's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Woodman.

Total Sites

133

within ~10 miles of Woodman

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

6 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Woodman

High0Moderate38Low95

Highest-Severity Sites

Advance Transformer CO
Toxics Release Inventory · 53805dvnct212ch
Advance Transformer CO
Toxics Release Inventory · 53805DVNCTHIGHW
Amcor Wisconsin, LLC
Toxics Release Inventory · 53805pchny91mrr
Boscobel Airport
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Caseys General Store #1872
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Woodman, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 92 sites within ~10 miles of Woodman. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.

Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Woodman

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Woodman average

Your land is one point inside Woodman

Everything above resolves to Woodman as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 159 acres. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at town scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better local average.

Your Lot vs the Woodman Average

Woodman Average

  • USDA Zones 5a, averaged across Woodman
  • One soil character for all of Woodman
  • Frost dates read at Woodman's scale: Apr 16 to Oct 20

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Woodman's 5a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Woodman

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Woodman, Wisconsin — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Woodman averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Woodman averages 187Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Woodman — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Woodman average

How we know this about Woodman

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this town’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Woodman’s own record; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at town grain anywhere on this page — there is no town-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Woodman

When does frost risk typically end in Woodman?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Woodman typically lands around Apr 16, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about May 7.

When is the first frost in Woodman?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Woodman typically arrives around Oct 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 6, so the watching starts about Sep 20 — about 187 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Woodman?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Woodman sees about 187 frost-free days — roughly Apr 16 through Oct 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 7 to Oct 6, about 152 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Woodman?

The federal record around Woodman shows 133 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (92), the nearest Nitrate record about 0.3 miles out — a typical footprint for a growing area, and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. It's worth seeing which recorded sites sit closest to where you grow, and testing the soil before new food beds near any of them.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Woodman?

From about Sep 20 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Oct 20 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Oct 20. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Woodman's scale — its 5a band and its 187-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Woodman's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Woodman’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Woodman's own scale — its own ~187-day season between 28°F freezes, the 159 acres it covers and 133 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Woodman's own USDA hardiness band, zones 5aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Woodman's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 16 and Oct 20 and the ~187-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 133 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Woodman, the closest Nitrate record about 0.3 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Woodman's boundary and the 159 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 5a and a ~187-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Woodman's own centroid, the Driftless AreaUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Woodman's 159 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Grant County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Grant County
  • The growing challenges every Wisconsin grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Wisconsin
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Grant County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Woodman's 159 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Woodman you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 159 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 0.3 miles out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Woodman-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address