One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant zucchini is to refer to the USDA zone info for Niles.

Planting Calendar for Zucchini

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant zucchini until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant zucchini in Niles 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. Any later than that and your zucchini may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your zucchini indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Niles. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Niles and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Niles you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your zucchini in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

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 Niles

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