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Zucchini

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When to plant zucchini

One or two plants feed a household. Pick small and often.

Photo: Meanos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The rules we use

Frost
Tender: killed by frost. Goes out 1–2 weeks after the average last frost.
Start indoors
3–4 weeks before planting out, or sow directly outside
Soil warm enough
Weekly mean around 15°C59°F or more
Heat limit
Average highs above 36°C97°F while it matures (flowers drop)
Days to harvest
About 50 days from sowing in warm weather; longer when it is cool
Picking
About 8 weeks from one planting

General guidance, kept on the cautious side. Varieties differ: check the seed packet. How the dates are worked out.

At a glance

Grows outdoors in
85 of 89 cities
Earliest start (north)
Orlando, January 1
Latest start (north)
Dublin, June 24
Can go in this week
13 cities
No outdoor window
Anchorage, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Calgary

Zucchini: city by city

Sorted from the earliest start after midwinter to the latest. Southern-hemisphere cities follow, with their seasons six months on.

Sow indoorsSow or plant outdoorsHarvestFrost seasonToday

Northern hemisphere
OrlandoFlorida
TampaFlorida
MiamiFlorida
HonoluluHawaii
Los AngelesCalifornia
PhoenixArizona
JacksonvilleFlorida
HoustonTexas
New OrleansLouisiana
San AntonioTexas
TucsonArizona
San DiegoCalifornia
AustinTexas
Las VegasNevada
DallasTexas
CharlestonSouth Carolina
El PasoTexas
FresnoCalifornia
BirminghamAlabama
Little RockArkansas
AtlantaGeorgia
SacramentoCalifornia
CharlotteNorth Carolina
MemphisTennessee
San JoseCalifornia
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
TulsaOklahoma
RaleighNorth Carolina
NashvilleTennessee
RichmondVirginia
St. LouisMissouri
LouisvilleKentucky
BaltimoreMaryland
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
Kansas CityMissouri
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
CincinnatiOhio
PhiladelphiaPennsylvania
IndianapolisIndiana
ColumbusOhio
PittsburghPennsylvania
OmahaNebraska
Des MoinesIowa
New YorkNew York
ClevelandOhio
Salt Lake CityUtah
MinneapolisMinnesota
DetroitMichigan
ChicagoIllinois
BostonMassachusetts
DenverColorado
San FranciscoCalifornia
BoiseIdaho
MadisonWisconsin
FargoNorth Dakota
MilwaukeeWisconsin
MontrealQuebec
BuffaloNew York
TorontoOntario
OttawaOntario
PortlandOregon
BurlingtonVermont
PortlandMaine
BillingsMontana
VancouverBritish Columbia
SpokaneWashington
WinnipegManitoba
LondonEngland
SeattleWashington
CardiffWales
ManchesterEngland
BristolEngland
EdmontonAlberta
BirminghamEngland
HalifaxNova Scotia
BelfastNorthern Ireland
DublinIreland
Southern hemisphere
BrisbaneQueensland
PerthWestern Australia
SydneyNew South Wales
AdelaideSouth Australia
MelbourneVictoria
AucklandNew Zealand
CanberraAustralian Capital Territory
HobartTasmania

Swipe sideways to see the whole year →

Dates

CitySow indoorsSow outdoorsHarvest
Orlando Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Tampa Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Miami Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Honolulu Hawaii–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Los Angeles CaliforniaJan 7 – Feb 3Feb 4 – Dec 13Jan 1 – Dec 31
Phoenix ArizonaJan 17 – Feb 13, Aug 25 – Sep 21Feb 14 – Apr 20, Sep 22 – Oct 16Oct 27 – Feb 3, Apr 11 – Jul 19
Jacksonville FloridaJan 24 – Feb 20Feb 21 – Dec 11Jan 1 – Dec 31
Houston TexasJan 24 – Feb 20Feb 21 – Oct 16Apr 16 – Dec 27
New Orleans LouisianaJan 29 – Feb 25Feb 26 – Oct 16Apr 21 – Jan 7
San Antonio TexasJan 30 – Feb 26Feb 27 – Jun 22, Jul 22 – Oct 4Apr 20 – Dec 2
Tucson ArizonaFeb 2 – Mar 1Mar 2 – May 1, Aug 21 – Oct 7Apr 25 – Jul 30, Sep 25 – Dec 8
San Diego CaliforniaFeb 3 – Mar 2Mar 3 – Dec 8May 11 – May 8
Austin TexasFeb 6 – Mar 5Mar 6 – Jun 22, Jul 23 – Oct 2Apr 27 – Dec 2
Las Vegas NevadaFeb 16 – Mar 15Mar 16 – May 9, Sep 3 – Sep 24May 6 – Aug 7, Oct 8 – Nov 21
Dallas TexasFeb 19 – Mar 18Mar 19 – Jun 13, Jul 23 – Sep 25May 8 – Nov 26
Charleston South CarolinaFeb 22 – Mar 21Mar 22 – Sep 28May 13 – Dec 6
El Paso TexasFeb 25 – Mar 24Mar 25 – May 15, Jul 14 – Sep 20May 14 – Aug 13, Aug 18 – Nov 18
Fresno CaliforniaFeb 28 – Mar 27Mar 28 – May 29, Aug 12 – Sep 20May 20 – Aug 27, Sep 16 – Nov 19
Birmingham AlabamaMar 4 – Mar 31Apr 1 – Sep 13May 21 – Nov 10
Little Rock ArkansasMar 5 – Apr 1Apr 2 – Sep 12May 20 – Nov 9
Atlanta GeorgiaMar 7 – Apr 3Apr 4 – Sep 9May 24 – Nov 7
Sacramento CaliforniaMar 10 – Apr 6Apr 7 – Sep 17May 31 – Nov 18
Charlotte North CarolinaMar 11 – Apr 7Apr 8 – Sep 6May 27 – Nov 2
Memphis TennesseeMar 11 – Apr 7Apr 8 – Sep 12May 25 – Nov 11
San Jose CaliforniaMar 11 – Apr 7Apr 8 – Sep 21Jun 8 – Dec 2
Oklahoma City OklahomaMar 14 – Apr 10Apr 11 – Sep 7May 27 – Nov 1
Tulsa OklahomaMar 14 – Apr 10Apr 11 – Sep 7May 29 – Nov 3
Raleigh North CarolinaMar 16 – Apr 12Apr 13 – Sep 5Jun 1 – Nov 3
Nashville TennesseeMar 16 – Apr 12Apr 13 – Sep 6May 31 – Nov 2
Richmond VirginiaMar 22 – Apr 18Apr 19 – Sep 4Jun 5 – Nov 3
St. Louis MissouriMar 26 – Apr 22Apr 23 – Aug 29Jun 7 – Oct 25
Louisville KentuckyMar 26 – Apr 22Apr 23 – Sep 1Jun 8 – Oct 30
Baltimore MarylandMar 29 – Apr 25Apr 26 – Sep 1Jun 11 – Oct 31
Washington District of ColumbiaMar 29 – Apr 25Apr 26 – Aug 31Jun 12 – Oct 31
Kansas City MissouriMar 29 – Apr 25Apr 26 – Aug 28Jun 11 – Oct 25
Albuquerque New MexicoMar 30 – Apr 26Apr 27 – Aug 29Jun 12 – Oct 27
Cincinnati OhioApr 1 – Apr 28Apr 29 – Aug 26Jun 15 – Oct 24
Philadelphia PennsylvaniaApr 5 – May 2May 3 – Aug 29Jun 18 – Oct 28
Indianapolis IndianaApr 6 – May 3May 4 – Aug 23Jun 19 – Oct 22
Columbus OhioApr 7 – May 4May 5 – Aug 22Jun 20 – Oct 21
Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaApr 9 – May 6May 7 – Aug 20Jun 23 – Oct 20
Omaha NebraskaApr 10 – May 7May 8 – Aug 19Jun 22 – Oct 17
Des Moines IowaApr 11 – May 8May 9 – Aug 18Jun 24 – Oct 16
New York New YorkApr 13 – May 10May 11 – Aug 25Jun 26 – Oct 27
Cleveland OhioApr 15 – May 12May 13 – Aug 19Jun 29 – Oct 19
Salt Lake City UtahApr 17 – May 14May 15 – Aug 21Jun 29 – Oct 17
Minneapolis MinnesotaApr 18 – May 15May 16 – Aug 9Jul 1 – Oct 9
Detroit MichiganApr 19 – May 16May 17 – Aug 15Jul 3 – Oct 15
Chicago IllinoisApr 20 – May 17May 18 – Aug 16Jul 4 – Oct 16
Boston MassachusettsApr 22 – May 19May 20 – Aug 16Jul 6 – Oct 17
Denver ColoradoApr 23 – May 20May 21 – Aug 11Jul 5 – Oct 7
San Francisco CaliforniaApr 23 – May 20May 21 – Sep 7Aug 1 – Nov 30
Boise IdahoApr 24 – May 21May 22 – Aug 16Jul 9 – Oct 14
Madison WisconsinApr 25 – May 22May 23 – Aug 7Jul 10 – Oct 9
Fargo North DakotaApr 26 – May 23May 24 – Aug 1Jul 9 – Sep 29
Milwaukee WisconsinApr 27 – May 24May 25 – Aug 9Jul 12 – Oct 11
Montreal QuebecApr 27 – May 24May 25 – Aug 5Jul 13 – Oct 5
Buffalo New YorkApr 29 – May 26May 27 – Aug 10Jul 15 – Oct 13
Toronto OntarioApr 29 – May 26May 27 – Aug 7Jul 14 – Oct 8
Ottawa OntarioApr 29 – May 26May 27 – Aug 1Jul 15 – Oct 1
Portland OregonMay 1 – May 28May 29 – Aug 9Jul 24 – Oct 17
Burlington VermontMay 2 – May 29May 30 – Aug 6Jul 18 – Oct 8
Portland MaineMay 2 – May 29May 30 – Aug 4Jul 19 – Oct 7
Billings MontanaMay 4 – May 31Jun 1 – Aug 4Jul 17 – Oct 2
Vancouver British ColumbiaMay 5 – Jun 1Jun 2 – Jul 29Jul 31 – Oct 7
Spokane WashingtonMay 6 – Jun 2Jun 3 – Jul 31Jul 23 – Oct 1
Winnipeg ManitobaMay 7 – Jun 3Jun 4 – Jul 23Jul 22 – Sep 21
London EnglandMay 8 – Jun 4Jun 5 – Jul 29Aug 1 – Oct 15
Seattle WashingtonMay 9 – Jun 5Jun 6 – Jul 30Aug 4 – Oct 12
Cardiff WalesMay 15 – Jun 11Jun 12 – Jul 21Aug 14 – Oct 14
Manchester EnglandMay 16 – Jun 12Jun 13 – Jul 14Aug 17 – Oct 7
Bristol EnglandMay 16 – Jun 12Jun 13 – Jul 20Aug 16 – Oct 13
Edmonton AlbertaMay 19 – Jun 12Jun 16 – Jul 3Aug 14 – Sep 13
Birmingham EnglandMay 22 – Jun 17Jun 19 – Jul 8Aug 26 – Oct 3
Halifax Nova ScotiaMay 22 – Jun 18Jun 19 – Jul 29Aug 11 – Oct 6
Belfast Northern IrelandMay 23 – Jun 10Jun 20 – Jul 1Sep 2 – Oct 1
Dublin IrelandMay 27 – Jun 12Jun 24 – Jul 3Sep 9 – Oct 5
Brisbane QueenslandJul 11 – Aug 4Aug 5 – Jul 10Jan 1 – Dec 31
Perth Western AustraliaAug 9 – Sep 5Sep 6 – Jun 18Jan 1 – Dec 31
Sydney New South WalesAug 13 – Sep 9Sep 10 – May 3Nov 10 – Oct 15
Adelaide South AustraliaSep 4 – Oct 1Oct 2 – Mar 19Nov 30 – Jun 12
Melbourne VictoriaSep 22 – Oct 19Oct 20 – Mar 7Dec 21 – May 29
Auckland New ZealandSep 30 – Oct 27Oct 28 – Mar 12Dec 29 – Jun 10
Canberra Australian Capital TerritoryOct 8 – Nov 4Nov 5 – Feb 15Jan 2 – Apr 30
Hobart TasmaniaNov 16 – Dec 13Dec 14 – Jan 19Feb 22 – Apr 22
Anchorage AlaskaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Edinburgh ScotlandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Glasgow ScotlandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Calgary AlbertaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.

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