One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Melbourne you will be able 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Squash do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Melbourne 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. Any later than that and your squash may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your squash indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Melbourne. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Melbourne is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Melbourne you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your squash in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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