Use this as a Waukesha-area planning baseline; delay warm crops when spring is cold or a late frost is forecast.
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.
Regional timing
Current regional planting plan
UW Extension Waukesha County vegetable planting schedule for Southeastern Wisconsin spring starts, warm-soil crops, and late planting cutoffs.
Source-backed timing
UW Extension Waukesha County Vegetable Garden Planting Schedule
SE Wisconsin
153 frost-free days
May 7 last frost
spring release
Oct 7 first frost
fall limit
- 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.
- Catalog priority
- 31 priority crops 31 catalog examples
- Climate checks
- 6 climate signals 12 planning notes
- Timing basis
- Using SE Wisconsin dates May 7 to Oct 7
Waltham 29 Broccoli, Snowball Y Cauliflower, Tall Utah Celery, Golden Acre Cabbage
In mid to late April, sow tomatoes indoors.
Calendar
Convert regional timing into dated sowing, transplant, and harvest jobs.
Frost dates
Keep hardiness zone context separate from local first and last frost dates.
All regions
Compare this guide with the broader regional atlas.
Wisconsin Containers
UW-Madison Extension container-variety guide for limited-space Wisconsin gardeners choosing container-suited vegetables, herbs, and salad greens.
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