🎃 When to Plant Squash (Winter)
Needs long season; start early in short-season zones
📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone
Squash (Winter) is a warm-season crop — plant it after your last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, and start seeds indoors a few weeks ahead for a head start. Find the exact start-indoors, transplant, and direct-sow dates for your USDA zone in the table below.
Select your zone to highlight your dates. All dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates — see how we calculate them.
| Zone | Last Frost | Start Indoors | Transplant | Direct Sow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 2A | May 30 | May 2 | May 30 | Jun 13 |
| Zone 3B | May 15 | Apr 17 | May 15 | May 29 |
| Zone 4A | May 8 | Apr 10 | May 8 | May 22 |
| Zone 4B | May 1 | Apr 3 | May 1 | May 15 |
| Zone 5A | Apr 25 | Mar 28 | Apr 25 | May 9 |
| Zone 5B | Apr 18 | Mar 21 | Apr 18 | May 2 |
| Zone 6A | Apr 21 | Mar 24 | Apr 21 | May 5 |
| Zone 6B | Apr 10 | Mar 13 | Apr 10 | Apr 24 |
| Zone 7A | Apr 5 | Mar 8 | Apr 5 | Apr 19 |
| Zone 7B | Mar 28 | Feb 28 | Mar 28 | Apr 11 |
| Zone 8A | Mar 20 | Feb 20 | Mar 20 | Apr 3 |
| Zone 8B | Mar 12 | Feb 12 | Mar 12 | Mar 26 |
| Zone 9A | Feb 28 | Jan 31 | Feb 28 | Mar 14 |
| Zone 9B | Feb 15 | Jan 18 | Feb 15 | Mar 1 |
| Zone 10A | Feb 1 | Jan 4 | Feb 1 | Feb 15 |
| Zone 10B | Jan 15 | Dec 18 | Jan 15 | Jan 29 |
| Zone 11A | Jan 1 | Dec 4 | Jan 1 | Jan 15 |
Winter squash (butternut, acorn, spaghetti) needs a long growing season but stores for months after harvest.
Top Growing Tips
- Needs 80-110 days of warm weather to mature
- Plant in hills with 4-6 feet between them
- Cure in the sun for 10 days after harvest for long storage
- Mulch to keep fruit off wet soil and prevent rot
- Don’t harvest until the stem begins to dry and the skin is hard
Companion Planting
Good companions: corn, beans, radishes, marigolds
Avoid planting near: potatoes
Harvest Timeline
80-110 days from seed
Growing squash (winter) in your region?
These dates come from your zone's frost windows. For the full month-by-month plan — succession sowing, variety picks, and timing tuned to your climate, not just your zone — our regional vegetable-gardening guides cover your area start to finish.
Find your regional growing guide