When to plant bell peppers in Milwaukee: 28 May – 12 July

In Milwaukee, bell pepper: sow for seedlings from 8 March to 13 May; plant into a greenhouse from 7 May to 12 July; plant out into open ground from 28 May to 12 July.

Bell Pepper in Milwaukee: soil, season and weather

In Milwaukee the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 27 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the bell pepper card — only around 28 May, 31 days later.

Last spring frost	27 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	28 May, 31 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	7 May – 12 July; May outside: 8.8 °C at night, 18.7 °C by day; card 15–30 °C
First autumn frost	1 November, 157 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	6 August – 20 September
Days left for picking	87
Daylight	12:34 on 29 March, 15:02 on 28 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 4 days; the driest month, November, has 7 rainy days

The same dates in Milwaukee hold for Cucumber, Eggplant, Zucchini, Pumpkin and Watermelon.

Bell Pepper in Milwaukee: care after planting

Planted on 28 May: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

28 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
25 June — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of bell pepper to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Milwaukee during the bell pepper season

No month of the season averages above the bell pepper card's 15–30 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 27.6 °C. Months that stay below 15 °C even by day on average: November (8.2 °C). Nights average below 15 °C in May and September–November (0.9–14.9 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	18.7	8.8	113	13	14:38
June	25.4	15.2	116	12	15:21
July	27.6	18.3	90	10	15:04
August	26.7	17.8	81	10	13:59
September	23.4	14.9	91	10	12:33
October	16.2	8.3	98	10	11:06
November	8.2	0.9	50	7	9:45

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Bell Pepper in nearby cities

Around Milwaukee, Green Bay is 1 day earlier and Traverse City 8 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Madison	121 km	28 May – 7 July	same day
Rockford	128 km	28 May – 8 July	same day
Chicago	131 km	28 May – 17 July	same day
Green Bay	165 km	27 May – 10 July	1 day earlier
Grand Rapids	182 km	28 May – 14 July	same day
Traverse City	266 km	5 June – 20 July	8 days later

Where to buy bell pepper plants and seeds near Milwaukee

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 May to 12 July (from 7 May to 12 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 8 March to 13 May. Within 15 km of Milwaukee OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 10 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Sherman Phoenix — market
West Fond du Lac Avenue 3536, 53216 Milwaukee · 07:00–20:00 · 6 km · shermanphoenix.com
Greenfield Farmers Market — market
West Layton Avenue 5151, 53220 Greenfield · May–Oct: Sun 10:00–14:00 · 11 km · greenfieldwifarmersmarket.com
South Milwaukee Downtown Market — market
Milwaukee Avenue 1101, 53172 South Milwaukee · Thu 15:00–19:00 · 15 km · smmarket.org
South Shore Farmers Market — market
South Shore Drive 2900, 53207 Milwaukee · Jun 20–Oct 24; Sat 08:00–12:00 · 6 km · southshorefarmersmarket.com

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

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