Regional guide

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.

Climate signals

• The schedule says the recommended planting dates are estimates, and the last frost date is based on historical climate data.
• It warns that a late frost could occur mid-May or later if conditions are right.
• The source says to delay planting by days or weeks if it is cold or there is a late spring.
• It also cautions that air temperatures are different than soil temperatures and some vegetables need warm soil temperatures to thrive.
• For spring planting, the schedule uses an average last frost date of May 7.
• For late planting, the schedule uses an average first frost date of October 7.

Planning notes

• In late March or early April, the schedule says to sow seeds indoors for broccoli, cauliflower, celery, early cabbage, eggplant, head lettuce, and peppers.
• In mid to late April, sow tomatoes indoors.
• In late April, sow beets, carrots, chard, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, mustard, onion sets, parsnips, peas, radishes, spinach, turnips, and potato seed pieces directly into the garden.
• In early May, sow cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, and squashes indoors, and transplant broccoli, cauliflower, early cabbage, head lettuce, and onions into the garden.
• In mid-May, sow beans, okra, pumpkins, and sweet corn directly into the garden.
• In late May or early June, sow Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, late cabbage, lima beans, summer squash, and watermelon directly into the garden.
• In late May, transplant celery, eggplant, melons, peppers, pumpkins, tomato, and winter squash into the garden.
• For late planting, August 1 is the last date for seeding beets, bush beans, carrot, cucumber, kohlrabi, peas, and turnips.
• August 1 is also the last date for transplanting broccoli, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, kale, and onion plants.
• September 1 is the last date for seeding chard, leaf lettuce, mustard greens, and spinach, and for transplanting kohlrabi and onion sets.
• September 15 is the last date for planting radish seed.
• Use these priority catalog links as crop-level examples for the UW Extension Waukesha County schedule, not as named-variety 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.

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

Related regional guides

• Wisconsin Container Vegetable Varieties UW-Madison Extension container-variety guide for limited-space Wisconsin gardeners choosing container-suited vegetables, herbs, and salad greens.
• Northern Wisconsin Planting Guide UW Extension crop-row timing guide for northern Wisconsin vegetables, indoor starts, transplants, direct seeding, and yield caveats.

Source: UW Extension Waukesha County Vegetable Garden Planting Schedule