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.

Regional timing

Current regional planting plan

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

Source-backed timing UW-Madison Extension Vegetable Varieties for Containers

Wisconsin Containers 153 frost-free days

May 7 last frost spring release Oct 7 first frost fall limit

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.

Catalog priority: 13 priority crops
Climate checks: 4 climate signals
Timing basis: Using SE Wisconsin dates

Source-backed timing May 7 last frost and October 7 first frost from the SE Wisconsin schedule.

Use this as a Waukesha-area planning baseline; delay warm crops when spring is cold or a late frost is forecast.

Crop priority Detroit Dark Red Beet leads the catalog examples

Detroit Dark Red Beet, Clemson Spineless Okra, French Breakfast Radish, Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Next local check 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.

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. SE Wisconsin UW Extension Waukesha County vegetable planting schedule for Southeastern Wisconsin spring starts, warm-soil crops, and late planting cutoffs.

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