One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Charleston can be used to figure out when to plant squash.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

Squash do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Charleston is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant squash and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

In Charleston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charleston and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your squash in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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