When to Plant Squash in La Palma, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant squash by reviewing the USDA zone info for La Palma.


Planting Calendar for Squash

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

It's not a good idea to plant squash until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant squash in La Palma is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your squash indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in La Palma. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Palma and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in La Palma you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your squash in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for La Palma

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in La Palma

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Palma.