When to Plant Squash in Peru, IL

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

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant squash is to examine the USDA zone info for Peru.


Planting Calendar for Squash

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

You should not plant squash until after the last frost has passed 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 Peru 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. If you wait any later than that and your squash may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your squash indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Peru. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Peru is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Peru last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your squash in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Peru

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 Peru

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