One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of figuring out when it's possible to plant squash is to use the USDA zone info for Dolton.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

Since squash require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Dolton 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your squash indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dolton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Dolton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dolton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your squash in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dolton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Dolton

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