When to Plant Squash in Clinton, IL

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.

In Clinton you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant squash by referring to the USDA zone info.


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 are not cold tolerant which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed 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 Clinton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Clinton. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 Clinton and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Clinton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your squash if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clinton

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 Clinton

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