One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant zucchini is to use the USDA zone info for Elkhart.

Planting Calendar for Zucchini

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

Since zucchini do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zucchini in Elkhart 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 really do well. Starting your zucchini indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Elkhart. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Elkhart is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elkhart you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your zucchini if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elkhart

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 Elkhart

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