One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant squash by referring to the USDA zone info for Decatur.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

It's a bad idea to plant squash until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Decatur 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 really do well. 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 Decatur. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Decatur is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Decatur there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your squash if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

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 Decatur

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