The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant squash by using the USDA zone info for Dowagiac.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

Since squash do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Dowagiac 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Dowagiac. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Dowagiac is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dowagiac you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your squash if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dowagiac

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 Dowagiac

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