When to Plant Squash in Canton, NY

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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Canton it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant squash.


Planting Calendar for Squash

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

It's not a good idea to plant squash until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant squash
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant squash
Probably not a good time to plant squash

The earliest that you can plant squash in Canton is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your squash may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Canton the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Canton is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Canton last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your squash in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Canton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Canton

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