One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Orland should be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant squash.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

You really shouldn't plant squash until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Orland 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. If you wait any later than that and your squash may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Orland. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Orland is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Orland it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your squash if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orland

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 Orland

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