One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The best time to plant squash in Tucson can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Squash

Frost tolerance for squash:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Squash are not cold tolerant which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Tucson. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Tucson is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Tucson you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your squash in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tucson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Tucson

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