One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 Chattanooga should be used to figure out when it's possible to plant squash.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant squash until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Chattanooga 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. Any later than that and your squash may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chattanooga. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chattanooga and it is different every year. Half of the time in Chattanooga there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your squash in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chattanooga

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Chattanooga

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