Winter squash
Vegetables · Sow outdoors or set out
Winter squash planting dates
At usual odds in 2026: Apr 20 – Jul 31.
The guide's rule 1 week before last frost to 13 weeks before first frost.
Frost odds · chance of a freezing night after your spring date
The 2026 season
Start indoors Plant out / sow Frost risk
At all three odds
| Frost odds | Start indoors | Plant / sow |
|---|---|---|
| Bold (1 in 2) | Mar 16 – Jul 14 | Apr 13 – Aug 4 |
| Usual (3 in 10) | Mar 23 – Jul 10 | Apr 20 – Jul 31 |
| Careful (1 in 10) | Mar 31 – Jul 1 | Apr 28 – Jul 22 |
- Days to first harvest
- 60-100 from seed 85-100, after transplanting 60-80
- How it goes in
- Sow outdoors or set out 3-4 weeks indoors to transplant size
- Frost
- Frost-tender A freezing night kills it.
- Soil to germinate
- 65-85°F
Frost-tender: a single 32°F night can kill it. Early in the window, keep a cover handy or choose careful odds.
Plan it in your Garden Book
The book checks your date against the window and tells you when the first harvest could come.
Plus Free Garden Books hold 8 plantings a season; Seed Clock Plus holds 120: $1.95/month or $19.50/year. Free during preview What Plus adds
Source: Montana State University Extension, MontGuide MT199308AG, "Can I Grow That Here? Vegetable Seed and Transplant Schedules for Garden or Container" (reviewed August 2013), read with NOAA 1991-2020 freeze odds for Cleveland Hopkins. Wording ours; how we read the guide.