The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant zucchini is to use the USDA zone info for Athens.

Planting Calendar for Zucchini

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

Since zucchini do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zucchini in Athens 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your zucchini may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your zucchini indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Athens the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Athens is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Athens you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your zucchini in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Athens

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