One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Carbondale it's possible to figure out 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 all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant squash until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Carbondale is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant squash and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your squash may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your squash indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Carbondale. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carbondale is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Carbondale there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your squash if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carbondale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Carbondale

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