When to plant zucchini in Madison: 28 May – 10 August

In Madison, zucchini: sow for seedlings from 16 April to 20 July; plant into a greenhouse from 7 May to 10 August; plant out into open ground from 28 May to 10 August.

Zucchini in Madison: soil, season and weather

In Madison 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 zucchini 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	27 October, 152 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	36
First harvest, if planted in this window	3 July – 15 September
Days left for picking	116
Daylight	14:20 on 7 May, 15:03 on 28 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, August, has 10 rainy days

The same dates in Madison hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Pumpkin and Watermelon.

Zucchini in Madison: care after planting

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

Pests and diseases of zucchini to watch for:

Weather in Madison during the zucchini season

About 565 mm of rain falls in the season; August is the driest month (79 mm) and June the wettest (107 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	20.6	9.9	105	12	14:39
June	26.5	16.2	107	12	15:21
July	27.9	18.4	99	11	15:04
August	26.7	17.3	79	10	13:59
September	23.6	14.3	90	8	12:33
October	16	7.4	85	10	11:06

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Zucchini in nearby cities

3 of the nearest cities share Madison's date.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Rockford	94 km	28 May – 11 August	same day
Milwaukee	121 km	28 May – 15 August	same day
Davenport	195 km	17 May – 13 August	11 days earlier
Green Bay	196 km	27 May – 13 August	1 day earlier
Chicago	196 km	28 May – 20 August	same day
Cedar Rapids	224 km	20 May – 8 August	8 days earlier

Where to buy zucchini plants and seeds near Madison

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 May to 10 August (from 7 May to 10 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 16 April to 20 July. Within 15 km of Madison OpenStreetMap lists 8 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 3 plant nurseries, 19 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Monona Farmers Market — market
East Broadway 400, 53716 Monona · Sun 08:30–12:30 · 7 km
Northside Farmers' Market — market
Northport Drive 1865, 53704 Madison · Sun 08:30–12:30 · 7 km
McFarland Farmers' Market — market
US 51 5709, 53558 McFarland · Thu 14:00–18:00 · 10 km
Verona Downtown Farmers Market — market
West Railroad Street 101, 53593 Verona · Wed 15:00–18:30 · 14 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