When to Plant Zucchini in Charleston, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Charleston you can estimate when you can plant zucchini by referring to the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Zucchini

Frost tolerance for zucchini: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Zucchini do not do well in cold weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant zucchini
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant zucchini
Probably not a good time to plant zucchini

The earliest that you can plant zucchini in Charleston is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant zucchini and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your zucchini may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your zucchini indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charleston. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Charleston is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your zucchini if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Charleston.