Right now
26°C / 78°F
Overcast · wind 14 km/h · 62% RH
Soil (6 cm)
20°C / 68°F
Warm-season seeds go
Hardiness zone
5a
est. from 10-yr extreme low -26°C
Frost window
Apr 29 – Oct 26
~180 frost-free days · first frost in ~48 days
Sun
06:29 – 19:20
sunrise – sunset today
Moon
Waning Crescent
10% lit · solunar good · full 2026-09-26
7-day forecast
America/Chicago
Tue
Drizzle
26° / 17°
0.7 mm
Wed
Rain
27° / 19°
11.45 mm
Thu
Overcast
25° / 15°
dry
Fri
Clear
25° / 12°
dry
Sat
Drizzle
28° / 17°
1.1 mm
Sun
Overcast
22° / 15°
dry
Mon
Showers
23° / 15°
7.8 mm
This week
AI field guide · refreshed weeklyMadison Gardening: Early September — Sow Fall Crops, Harvest Summer Bounty. Madison-Area Fishing: Early Fall Walleye, Bass, and Panfish. Fall Foraging in Madison: September.
Gardening
Madison Gardening: Early September — Sow Fall Crops, Harvest Summer Bounty
Sow & harvest now
- Spinach (Bloomsdale, Space or Tyee)
- Arugula (Roquette)
- Radish (Cherry Belle, Icicle)
- Kale (Lacinato, Winterbor)
Fishing
Madison-Area Fishing: Early Fall Walleye, Bass, and Panfish
What's biting
- Walleye
- Largemouth Bass
- Bluegill and Sunfish
- Northern Pike
Foraging
Fall Foraging in Madison: September
In season now
- Black Walnut
- Wild Grapes (Vitis riparia, V. labrusca hybrids)
- Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)
- Puffball Mushrooms (Lycoperdon, Calvatia species)
Your ecological region
Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
The mixed hardwood heartland of Ontario, Quebec, the Great Lakes states and northern New England. Four real seasons and rich soils.
Regional guide →Your hardiness zone
Zone 5a
Estimated from a 10-year average extreme low of -26°C. What grows, what bites and what to forage across your zone.
Zone guide →Get this guide for Madison every week
Frost warnings, what's biting, what's ripening. One email, Sunday evening.