Regional guide

Northern Wisconsin Planting Guide

UW Extension crop-row timing guide for northern Wisconsin vegetables, indoor starts, transplants, direct seeding, and yield caveats.

Climate signals

• Planting guide for northern Wisconsin is from publication A1653, Vegetable cultivars and planting guide for Wisconsin gardens-2008, by A.J. Bussan, Judy Reith-Rozelle, and Karen Delahaut, UW Coop Extension.
• Cool-season direct-seed rows include Beet, Carrot, Chard, Kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, Mustard, Parsnip, Pea, Radish, Spinach, and Turnip on April 29.
• Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, and head lettuce use March 29 indoors and May 14 plants.
• Onion uses February 29 indoors, May 14 plants, and April 29 sets, with no priority link because the catalog onion is a weak match.
• Parsley uses March 14 indoors and May 14 plants.
• Tomato uses April 29 indoors and June 3 plants; Pepper uses April 14 indoors and June 14 plants; Eggplant uses March 29 indoors and June 14 plants.
• Celery uses March 29 indoors and June 3 plants; Okra uses April 29 indoors and June 14 plants.

Planning notes

• Warm-season direct-seed rows include Bush snap beans on May 24, Sweet corn on May 10 and June 8, and Cucumber on June 14.
• The sweet corn footnote says sugary enhancers and supersweets should wait until May 25.
• Muskmelon uses May 29 indoors and June 3 plants, while Watermelon uses June 3.
• Pumpkin uses May 14 indoors, June 3 plants, and May 24 seeds; fall squash uses May 14 indoors and June 3 plants.
• Brussels sprouts use May 29 seeds and 90-100 days; late cabbage also uses May 29 seeds.
• Chinese cabbage and Collards use July 4 seeds; Endive uses July 9; Kale uses July 9; Rutabaga uses June 29.
• Potato, Asparagus, Rhubarb, and Salsify are source rows with no catalog seed link in this guide.
• Summer squash is a source row with no catalog seed link because the available squash links are weak matches for this row.
• Cultivars vary in days to harvest; extend harvest with cultivars of different maturity dates or successive plantings.
• Estimated yields are under less than ideal growing conditions, and actual yields vary with weather, soil fertility, and cultural practices.
• Use these priority catalog links as crop-level examples for the UW Extension northern guide, not UW 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.

• Provider Bush Bean Vegetable · Warm · 50 days
• Detroit Dark Red Beet Vegetable · Cool · 58 days
• Waltham 29 Broccoli Vegetable · Cool · 74 days
• Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts Vegetable · Cool · 100 days
• Golden Acre Cabbage Vegetable · Cool · 64 days
• Danvers 126 Carrot Vegetable · Shoulder · 70 days
• Snowball Y Cauliflower Vegetable · Cool · 70 days
• Tall Utah Celery Vegetable · Cool · 110 days
• Bright Lights Swiss Chard Vegetable · Shoulder · 55 days
• Georgia Southern Collards Vegetable · Cool · 65 days
• Golden Bantam Sweet Corn Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Marketmore 76 Cucumber Vegetable · Warm · 58 days
• Black Beauty Eggplant Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Green Curled Endive Vegetable · Cool · 85 days
• Lacinato Kale Vegetable · Cool · 60 days
• Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
• Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Hale's Best Jumbo Melon Vegetable · Warm · 85 days
• Southern Giant Curled Mustard Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Clemson Spineless Okra Vegetable · Warm · 56 days
• Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Herb · Shoulder · 75 days
• Hollow Crown Parsnip Vegetable · Cool · 120 days
• Sugar Snap Pea Vegetable · Cool · 62 days
• California Wonder Pepper Vegetable · Warm · 72 days
• Small Sugar Pumpkin Vegetable · Warm · 100 days
• French Breakfast Radish Vegetable · Cool · 28 days
• American Purple Top Rutabaga Vegetable · Cool · 90 days
• Bloomsdale Spinach Vegetable · Cool · 42 days
• Waltham Butternut Squash Vegetable · Warm · 95 days
• Roma Tomato Vegetable · Warm · 76 days
• Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
• Sugar Baby Watermelon Vegetable · Warm · 80 days

Related regional guides

• Southeastern Wisconsin Planting Schedule Vegetable Garden UW Extension Waukesha County vegetable planting schedule for Southeastern Wisconsin spring starts, warm-soil crops, and late planting cutoffs.
• Wisconsin Container Vegetable Varieties UW-Madison Extension container-variety guide for limited-space Wisconsin gardeners choosing container-suited vegetables, herbs, and salad greens.

Source: UW Extension Planting guide for northern Wisconsin