One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores you should be able to determine when you can plant squash.

Planting Calendar for Squash

Frost tolerance for squash:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Squash require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Gulf Shores is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant squash and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your squash may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Gulf Shores. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gulf Shores you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your squash if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gulf Shores

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gulf Shores

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gulf Shores.