When to Plant Squash in San Diego, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when you can plant squash is to examine the USDA zone info for San Diego.


Planting Calendar for Squash

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

Since squash do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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 San Diego 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. Starting your squash indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in San Diego. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Diego and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in San Diego there is a last frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your squash if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Diego

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 San Diego

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Diego.