Regional guide
Minnesota Soil-Temperature Vegetable Garden
UMN Extension guide for Minnesota vegetable timing built around soil temperature, freeze-date tools, and short-season transplants.
Climate signals
- Soil temperature is the most relevant determinant for when to plant, and UMN points gardeners to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Six-Inch Soil Temperature Network.
- UMN pairs the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map with the Midwestern Regional Climate Center freeze dates map for local spring and fall timing.
- Cool-season crops such as lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and onions can be sown right after preparing the garden plot.
- When soil temperatures are between 40 and 50F, UMN says peas, spinach, lettuce, and radish can be direct seeded.
- Wait until after the last frost, described as mid-to-late May, before transplanting tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, summer squash, basil, and similar warm-season crops.
- Warm-season crops need a long growing season and will not mature if seeded directly in the garden in Minnesota.
Planning notes
- Begin warm-season crops later than cool-season crops because they need soil temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees F.
- Some vegetables can be planted twice; UMN names leaf lettuce, radishes, and kohlrabi in mid-April and again in August for fall harvest.
- Mid-April entries include broccoli, brussels sprouts, collards, cauliflower, endive, onion, parsley, and spinach.
- Mid-April to early May is the UMN outdoor planting window for peas.
- Mid-April to early June is the UMN outdoor planting window for carrots.
- Mid-April to mid-June is the UMN outdoor planting window for beets, kohlrabi, and leaf lettuce.
- Mid-April to early July is the UMN outdoor planting window for kale.
- Early May includes Swiss chard and parsnips.
- Mid-May includes beans, celery, muskmelon, pumpkin, squash, tomatoes, and watermelon.
- Mid-May to mid-June is the UMN outdoor planting window for sweet corn.
- Early June includes eggplant and pepper.
- Early July includes Chinese cabbage, and Early August includes kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, radish, spinach, and turnip.
- Radishes, carrots, and beets do not tolerate transplanting and should be direct seeded.
- UMN says transplanting gives a head start in Minnesota's short growing season; transplant in late afternoon or on a cool, cloudy, calm day.
- Use these priority catalog links as crop-level examples for UMN timing groups, not UMN cultivar recommendations.
Catalog crop examples
These catalog entries match crops covered by the regional timing source; variety-specific details remain tied to each seed entry's own source.
- Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
- Golden Acre Cabbage Vegetable · Cool · 64 days
- Snowball Y Cauliflower Vegetable · Cool · 70 days
- Waltham 29 Broccoli Vegetable · Cool · 74 days
- Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts Vegetable · Cool · 100 days
- Evergreen Bunching Onion Vegetable · Shoulder · 65 days
- Sugar Snap Pea Vegetable · Cool · 62 days
- Bloomsdale Spinach Vegetable · Cool · 42 days
- French Breakfast Radish Vegetable · Cool · 28 days
- Georgia Southern Collards Vegetable · Cool · 65 days
- Green Curled Endive Vegetable · Cool · 85 days
- Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Herb · Shoulder · 75 days
- Danvers 126 Carrot Vegetable · Shoulder · 70 days
- Detroit Dark Red Beet Vegetable · Cool · 58 days
- Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
- Lacinato Kale Vegetable · Cool · 60 days
- Bright Lights Swiss Chard Vegetable · Shoulder · 55 days
- Hollow Crown Parsnip Vegetable · Cool · 120 days
- Marketmore 76 Cucumber Vegetable · Warm · 58 days
- Provider Bush Bean Vegetable · Warm · 50 days
- Tall Utah Celery Vegetable · Cool · 110 days
- Hale's Best Jumbo Melon Vegetable · Warm · 85 days
- Small Sugar Pumpkin Vegetable · Warm · 100 days
- Delicata Winter Squash Vegetable · Warm · 100 days
- Waltham Butternut Squash Vegetable · Warm · 95 days
- Roma Tomato Vegetable · Warm · 76 days
- Sugar Baby Watermelon Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
- American Purple Top Rutabaga Vegetable · Cool · 90 days
- Golden Bantam Sweet Corn Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
- Black Beauty Eggplant Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
- California Wonder Pepper Vegetable · Warm · 72 days
- Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
- Genovese Basil Herb · Warm · 68 days
Related regional guides
- Upper Midwest Short-Season Garden A frost-aware guide for northern gardeners who need quick cool-season starts, protected warm-season transplants, and reliable fall repeats.