One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 Jacksonville can be reffered to in order to determine 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 has passed.

Squash are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant squash in Jacksonville 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your squash indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Jacksonville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Jacksonville is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Jacksonville you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your squash in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Jacksonville

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