When to Plant Squash in Genoa, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Genoa you can figure out when you can plant squash by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Squash

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

It's not a good idea to plant squash until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

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 Genoa 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Genoa is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Genoa there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your squash in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Genoa

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 Genoa

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