One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant squash is to examine the USDA zone info for Sweetwater.

Planting Calendar for Squash

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

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

The earliest that you can plant squash in Sweetwater 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 little bit earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Sweetwater the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sweetwater and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Sweetwater you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your squash if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sweetwater

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Sweetwater

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