When to Plant Summer Squash and Zucchini in Georgia: Spring and Late-Season Dates

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s own summer squash dates for Georgia, row by row and never averaged, beside NOAA frost dates for Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, Macon Middle Ga Regional Airport, and Augusta Bush Field Airport.

By Paul Gunder · How we check our sources

Updated November 11, 2026

Figures checked against their sources on November 11, 2026; next check May 8, 2027.

For summer squash, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension prints 3 parts of the state under the heading “squash”; the table below copies each entry as printed. No exact days appear in the first column. It reads Middle Georgia (April, with a second planting within 2 to 3 weeks and a third in May), South Georgia (Spring planting dates as much as 2 to 3 weeks earlier), and North Georgia (Spring planting dates 1 to 3 weeks later, moving north through the mountain counties). Nothing on this row separates seed from transplants.

The summer squash windows by part of the state

UGA says to make a second planting of snap beans, corn and squash within 2 to 3 weeks of the first, and a third in May.

UGA’s July entry lists squash among the crops that can also be planted then.

Summer squash planting dates in Georgia, as printed by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (one row per part of the state, none averaged)
Part of the state	Spring planting	Late-season planting
Middle Georgia	April, with a second planting within 2 to 3 weeks and a third in May	By August 31; plant varieties resistant to downy mildew
South Georgia	Spring planting dates as much as 2 to 3 weeks earlier	Fall planting dates as much as 2 weeks later
North Georgia	Spring planting dates 1 to 3 weeks later, moving north through the mountain counties	Fall planting dates about 2 weeks earlier

Reading the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension table

UGA says the two major planting periods are spring, March to May, and fall, mid-July to September. The circular bases its recommendations on long-term average dates of the last killing frost in spring and the first killing frost in fall.

Starting summer squash indoors

If you raise your own transplants, count backward from the set-out date. UNH’s fact sheet allows 3 to 4 weeks for that stage, and the table lists what the others say.

Expect less guidance here than for tomatoes: summer squash get a single timed source and a note on pots.

In the garden itself, UNH sows summer squash once the soil reaches 70 °F, which a soil thermometer answers better than any calendar.

Indoor start for summer squash: what each saved source says (one row per source, none averaged)
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 Georgia stations

These are station dates from weather records, not county averages. Pick the station closest to your garden and elevation, and open its link for the full set of probabilities.

A station is tied to a region of the calendar only where the source’s own wording makes that call; the rest are left blank on purpose.

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Georgia stations: 50% last spring and first fall 32°F dates
Station	Last spring 32°F	First fall 32°F	Region in Georgia’s calendar
Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, Georgia	March 15	November 20	Not stated by the source
Macon Middle Ga Regional Airport, Georgia	March 21	November 10	Middle Georgia
Augusta Bush Field Airport, Georgia	March 23	November 9	Middle Georgia
Columbus Metro Airport, Georgia	March 5	November 23	Middle Georgia
Savannah International Airport, Georgia	March 2	November 30	Not stated by the source

Worked example

For a gardener near Macon Middle Ga Regional Airport, NOAA’s even-odds frost dates are March 21 in spring and November 10 in fall.

Middle Georgia is entered by month only (April), and the median last freeze, March 21, falls before the window opens.

On the fall side, Middle Georgia’s last planting date of August 31 leaves 71 days before the November 10 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 circular gives the last planting dates for fall crops, not a window, so the second column is a deadline.

Pencil the printed dates into a calendar, then adjust them after you have watched your own garden for a season.

Sources (4)