The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when to plant squash by checking out the USDA zone info for Storm Lake.

Planting Calendar for Squash

Frost tolerance for squash:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant squash until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Storm Lake 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. Any later than that and your squash may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Storm Lake the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Storm Lake and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Storm Lake you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your squash if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Storm Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Storm Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Storm Lake.