One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant squash in New Castle by looking at 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 a bad idea to plant squash until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant squash in New Castle 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. If you are starting your squash indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In New Castle the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for New Castle is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Castle you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your squash in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Castle

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 New Castle

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Castle.