When to Plant Squash in Zone 12a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant squash by looking at the USDA zone info for Zone 12a.


Planting Calendar for Squash

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

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant squash
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant squash
Probably not a good time to plant squash

The earliest that you can plant squash in Zone 12a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant squash and expect a good harvest is probably November. If you wait any later than that and your squash may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your squash indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12a it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 50°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 12a is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12a you do not have to be ready to cover your squash if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)Never
Lowest Expected Low50°F
Highest Expected Low55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12a.