When to Plant Zucchini in Sterling, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when to plant zucchini by referring to the USDA zone info for Sterling.

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Planting Calendar for Zucchini

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

You can not plant zucchini until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant zucchini
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant zucchini
Probably not a good time to plant zucchini

The earliest that you can plant zucchini in Sterling 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 zucchini and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your zucchini may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your zucchini indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Sterling may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sterling last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your zucchini in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sterling

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 Sterling

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