Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant squash by reviewing the USDA zone info for South Portland.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

You really shouldn't plant squash until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant squash in South Portland 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in South Portland. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for South Portland is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in South Portland there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your squash in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Portland

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 South Portland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Portland.