When to plant pumpkins in Milwaukee: 28 May – 7 July

In Milwaukee, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 26 March to 26 May; plant into a greenhouse from 7 May to 7 July; plant out into open ground from 28 May to 7 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Fred's Garden Center (garden centre, 8 km) and Stein's Garden and Home (garden centre, 11 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin 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 pumpkin 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
First autumn frost	1 November, 157 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	11 August – 20 September
Days left for picking	82
Daylight	13:25 on 16 April, 15:02 on 28 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, November, has 7 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Milwaukee: care after planting

Planted on 28 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

18 June — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of pumpkin 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 pumpkin season

About 639 mm of rain falls in the season; November is the driest month (50 mm) and June the wettest (116 mm).

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

Pumpkin 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 – 2 July	same day
Rockford	128 km	28 May – 3 July	same day
Chicago	131 km	28 May – 12 July	same day
Green Bay	165 km	27 May – 5 July	1 day earlier
Grand Rapids	182 km	28 May – 9 July	same day
Traverse City	266 km	5 June – 15 July	8 days later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Milwaukee

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 May to 7 July (from 7 May to 7 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 26 March to 26 May. Within 15 km of Milwaukee OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 10 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Bluemel's Garden and Landscape Center — garden centre
West Loomis Road 4930, 53220 Greenfield · Mon–Sat 07:00–18:00 · 11 km · bluemels.com
Fred's Garden Center — garden centre
West Appleton Avenue 6238, 53210 Milwaukee · Mon–Sat 10:00–14:00 · 8 km
Minor's Garden Center — garden centre
North 76th Street 7777, Milwaukee · 15 km · minorsgardencenter.com
Stein's Garden and Home — garden centre
South 27th Street 5400, 53221 Milwaukee · 11 km

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.

Questions