When to plant zucchini in Ottawa

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Comfortable in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Zucchini in Ottawa is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 91 days covers the 45–60 days this plant usually needs.

When to plantJune 5 – July 19

Harvest: July 20 – September 3
Season vs crop: 91 grow days vs 45–60 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): May 13 – October 30

Zucchini in Ottawa is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 91 days covers the 45–60 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Direct sow

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row91

Days to harvest45–60 days from seed

Jun 5 – Jul 19

Direct sow

Activity	Window	Notes
Direct sow	Jun 5 – Jul 19	Plant outdoors in this window.

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost. Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (21 – 32 °C) and tolerable (13 – 35 °C) ranges.

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules (frost, soil germination, night, and last-sow): green when plantable, blue diagonal when nights or soil are too cold, amber cross-hatch when too hot, faint for other calendar limits. Growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges across the year.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostMay 13

Safer last spring frostMay 13

Typical first fall frostOctober 30

Safer first fall frostOctober 30

Frost-free days169

Outdoor sow dateJune 5

Direct sow windowJune 5 – July 19

Suitable growing windowJune 5 – September 3 (91 days)

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 21 – 32 °C.
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 13 – 35 °C.
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Ottawa, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 45–60 days from seed, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. The year strip and weekly chart use the same window: air ratings only colour weeks inside it.

Growing window for Zucchini: Jun 5 – Sep 3 (91 days)

Planting window for Zucchini: Jun 5 – Jul 19 (45 days)

Usually too cold: Sep 14 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Ottawa. Shaded bands are this plant’s ideal and tolerable daytime air ranges. Growing is daytime air suitability; Planting is sow / plant-out conditions (same colour language). Window brackets mark each stretch.

Ideal range
Tolerable range
Possible min to max
Average min to max
Suitable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot

Selected week · tap a week or use the arrows

Week 23 · Jun 1 – Jun 7

Average 13 to 23 °C · Possible 5 to 32 °C

Growing: too cold

Planting: too cold

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 13 to 35 °C; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 21 to 32 °C band and possible readings stay within 0 °C to 35 °C. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; any chance of frost (possible low below 0 °C) makes it too cold. When a sowing window is calculated, weeks outside that window are uncoloured even if air is in range.

Based on average frost dates.

Show all 53 weeks

Cover method weekly charts

Outdoor weekly chart is above. Open a cover chart only if you grow under fleece, a cold frame, or an unheated greenhouse.

Other plants for Ottawa

Calculated by Plan & Plant · Method · Data 2019–2026

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics. Microclimates vary; they are not a guarantee.

How we calculated this

Data: ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo, cell 45.41, -75.70, years 2019–2026 (not a 30-year climate normal yet).
Typical and safer dates: Typical last frost is the date after which half of winters in this sample had no more frost; safer is later in the sample so fewer winters still frosted.
Crop rule: Local windows for Zucchini from frost dates, temperature ratings, and crop timing rules.
Confidence: Provisional — short or thin sample for this place.
Full methodology (algorithm 2026-10-season-6).

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