One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Ithaca you should be able to figure out when you can plant zucchini.

Planting Calendar for Zucchini

Frost tolerance for zucchini:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant zucchini until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant zucchini in Ithaca 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. If you wait any later than that and your zucchini may not have a chance to fully mature. 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

In Ithaca the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ithaca and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ithaca last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your zucchini if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ithaca

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Ithaca

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