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.

It's possible to estimate when to plant squash by looking at the USDA zone info for Riverside.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

Since squash are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Riverside 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

In Riverside the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Riverside and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Riverside last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your squash in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Riverside

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 Riverside

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