When to Plant Summer Squash and Zucchini in Alabama: Spring and Fall Dates for Central, North and South Alabama
One Alabama calendar, one crop: summer squash, with the source’s dates left as printed and NOAA frost dates for Huntsville International Airport, Birmingham Airport, and Montgomery Airport.
Updated
Figures checked against their sources on ; next check .
Open Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s calendar to the summer squash line under the heading “Squash, Summer” and you find 3 parts of the state, each with its own spring and fall entries. This calendar is coarser than most: Central Alabama (April), South Alabama (About 10 days earlier than Central Alabama), and North Alabama (About 10 days later than Central Alabama).
Summer Squash and Zucchini: the Alabama table
Alabama’s chart gives 40 - 55 days to maturity for the row, counted from planting seed or setting transplants in the garden.
| Part of the state | Spring planting | Fall planting |
|---|---|---|
| Central Alabama | April | Aug. 1-15 |
| South Alabama | About 10 days earlier than Central Alabama | About 10 days later than Central Alabama |
| North Alabama | About 10 days later than Central Alabama | About 10 days earlier than Central Alabama |
What to know about this source
Alabama’s chart is written for Central Alabama and gives spring and fall as a month or a short range. The page calls its cultivar lists a few of those recommended for Alabama, with many other good ones worth trying.
Varieties Alabama names
Alabama Cooperative Extension System suggests these for summer squash: Dixie, Yellow Crookneck, Yellow Straightneck, Cocozelle, Freedom III, Lemondrop (straightneck), Prelude III (crookneck), Sundrops, Tivoli, and Elite.
A variety missing from that list is not necessarily a poor one; the source simply did not name it.
Starting summer squash indoors
A calendar of outdoor dates says nothing about when the seed tray goes on the windowsill. For that, UNH offers 3 to 4 weeks of indoor growth before summer squash go out.
Of the saved sources, one gives weeks for summer squash (UNH) and one gives a handling tip (Minnesota).
In the garden itself, UNH sows summer squash once the soil reaches 70 °F, which a soil thermometer answers better than any calendar.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| University of New Hampshire | 3 to 4 weeks from seed to transplant; 2 weeks after the last frost is safe to set out |
| University of Minnesota | Cucumbers and squash transplant poorly, so raise them in fiber or paper pots that break down in the soil |
Typical frost dates at Alabama stations
A 50% frost date is a coin flip, not a promise. In half of the years the last spring freeze comes later than the date shown, and in half of them the first fall freeze comes earlier.
Regions in the last column come from the source’s wording, never from our reading of a map.
| Station | Last spring 32°F | First fall 32°F | Region in Alabama’s calendar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville International Airport, Alabama | March 24 | November 8 | North Alabama |
| Birmingham Airport, Alabama | March 21 | November 11 | Central Alabama |
| Montgomery Airport, Alabama | March 13 | November 13 | Central Alabama |
| Mobile Downtown Airport, Alabama | February 21 | December 6 | South Alabama |
Worked example
Take Montgomery Airport, Alabama. NOAA’s 1991-2020 normals put the 50% last spring 32°F night on March 13 and the 50% first fall one on November 13.
Central Alabama is entered by month only (April), and the median last freeze, March 13, falls before the window opens.
On the fall side, Central Alabama’s last planting date of August 15 leaves 90 days before the November 13 median first freeze.
This is arithmetic on two printed figures, not a forecast: it moves with the year, and your own garden can sit weeks away from the station. Look up the station nearest you in the frost dates tool and repeat the subtraction.
Before you rely on these dates
The page carries a review date of September 2018, older than most of the calendars used on this site.
Weather in the week of planting matters more than the printed date; use it to nudge the start earlier or later.
Sources (4)
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Planting Guide for Home Gardening in Alabama, ANR-0063, reviewed September 2018 aces.edu
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, annual and seasonal normals (frost/freeze probabilities by station) ncei.noaa.gov
- University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden (fact sheet) extension.unh.edu
- University of Minnesota Extension, Starting seeds indoors (page reviewed 2026) extension.umn.edu