Regional guide

Wisconsin Container Vegetable Varieties

UW-Madison Extension container-variety guide for limited-space Wisconsin gardeners choosing container-suited vegetables, herbs, and salad greens.

Climate signals

• UW-Madison Extension XHT1273 was last revised 02/08/2021 by Vijai Pandian, Extension Horticulture Outreach Specialist.
• The source says container gardening can fit on a window sill, balcony, deck, door step, or other place where space is limited and environmental conditions are suitable.
• The table gives recommendations on varieties of popular vegetables that are well-suited for growing in containers.
• Use this as a variety-fit source, not a Wisconsin planting-date calendar; pair it with the Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Wisconsin timing guides before setting dates.

Planning notes

• Bean container varieties listed by UW-Madison Extension are Derby, Eureka, Mascotte, Porch Pick, Tendercrop, and Topcrop; Provider is not listed, so it is not a priority link here.
• Beet includes Detroit Dark Red Medium Top; the catalog Detroit Dark Red link is a base-name match, not a claim that the catalog entry is the exact Medium Top strain.
• Carrot includes Danver's Half Long, Little Finger, Nantes Half Long, Paris Market, and Yaya; that is not Danvers 126, so do not link the catalog carrot here.
• Cucumber includes Bush Champion, Bush Pickle, Iznik, Parisian Gherkin, Patio Snacker, Salad Bush, Saladmore Bush, Space Master, and Sugar Crunch; Marketmore 76 is not listed.
• Eggplant container varieties include Dusky, Early Midnight, Gretel, Hansel, Ivory, Ophelia, Patio Baby, and Pinstripe; the catalog Black Beauty entry is not listed.
• Okra includes Clemson Spineless, along with Carmine Splendor and Jambalaya.
• Pea includes Caselode, Peas-in-a-Pot, and Sugar Ann, not Sugar Snap.
• Pepper includes Cajun Belle, Cayennetta, Cherry Stuffer, Cute Stuff Red, Gypsy, Just Sweet, Lady Belle, Mariachi, New Ace, Orange Blaze, Red Chili, Sweet Golden Baby Belle, and Tangerine Dream; California Wonder is not listed.
• Radish includes French Breakfast, along with Champion, Comet, D'Avignon, Early Scarlet Globe, Red Satin, Rido Red, Sparkler, and White Icicle.
• Squash includes compact summer-squash and zucchini rows such as Astia, Golden Scallopini Bush, Golden Zebra, Multipik, Supersett, Sweet Zuke, and Zebra Zuke; this is not winter squash or Delicata support.
• Swiss Chard includes Bright Lights, Fordhook Giant, Lucullus, and Peppermint.
• Herbs & Salad Greens are listed as broadly suitable because the source says most all varieties of herbs and salad greens are perfectly suitable for containers.
• Tomato includes container or compact choices such as San Marzano, Patio, Patio Paste, Tumbler, and Veranda Red; Roma is not listed, so it is not a priority link here.

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.

• Detroit Dark Red Beet Vegetable · Cool · 58 days
• Clemson Spineless Okra Vegetable · Warm · 56 days
• French Breakfast Radish Vegetable · Cool · 28 days
• Bright Lights Swiss Chard Vegetable · Shoulder · 55 days
• Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Astro Arugula Vegetable · Cool · 35 days
• Green Curled Endive Vegetable · Cool · 85 days
• Vit Mache Corn Salad Vegetable · Cool · 50 days
• Genovese Basil Herb · Warm · 68 days
• Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Herb · Shoulder · 75 days
• Santo Cilantro Herb · Cool · 50 days
• Bouquet Dill Herb · Shoulder · 55 days
• Common Chives Herb · Cool · 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.
• Northern Wisconsin Planting Guide UW Extension crop-row timing guide for northern Wisconsin vegetables, indoor starts, transplants, direct seeding, and yield caveats.

Source: UW-Madison Extension Vegetable Varieties for Containers