When to plant Winter squash in Texas, United States

Winter squash can be planted after March 20, when air temperature is consistently in a range between 50°F and 95°F and soil temperature is above 45°F.

Winter squash details page

Growing Winter squash in Texas

Days suitable for growing Winter squash in Texas

Texas has on average 81 continious days, suitable for growing Winter squash. Winter squash needs on average between 80 and 110 days to mature and produce harvest.

Growing season for Winter squash in Texas is quite short, with only 81 continious days suitable for growing, so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.

Winter squash seeds can be planted between March 20 and March 20. Planting before March 20 without any additional protection is not advised because cold streaks can damage or kill off young plant. When planting after March 20, Winter squash will not have enough time to mature and produce harvest.

Growing season extention

In order to maximize chances for a good harvest of Winter squash in Texas, some extra steps can be taken to extend growing season.

Start seeds indoors

When starting seeds indoors, it is possible to guarantee best possible conditions for young seedlings. Consistent temperature range, adequate watering and ample light (natural, supplemented with artifitial grow lights) will ensure you have strong and healthy seedlings just in time for transplanting into soil.

It takes 28 days on average for Winter squash to sprout, and grow big enough to be ready for transplanting.

March 20 is on average first day in Texas that has required temperatures for young Winter squash seedlings to grow, without worrying about cold damage.

Seeds can be started indoors beween February 20 and March 20, this way they will be ready just in time for transplanting on March 20.

Seedlings started after March 20 might not have enough time to mature and produce harvest.

Use a cold frame

When using a cold frame in a beggining of growing season You can protect young plants from possible temperature drops, this way growing season can start up to 2 weeks earlier.

Use an additional shading

On days, when air temperatures are expected to raise above 95°F, which is in top of tolerable range for Winter squash, consider using additional shading to prevent heat shock.

Total frost free days	245
Last frost expected date	March 12
First frost expected date	November 12
Dates with ideal conditions
Dates with suitable conditions	January 18 February 22 March 02 March 05 March 08 to March 17 (10 days) March 20 to June 08 (81 days) June 10 to June 11 (2 days) September 11 to September 26 (16 days) September 28 to October 29 (32 days) November 02 to November 11 (10 days) November 14 November 16 to November 17 (2 days) November 20 to November 22 (3 days) November 24 to November 26 (3 days) November 29 to November 30 (2 days) December 03 December 05 to December 10 (6 days) December 13 to December 14 (2 days) December 28 to December 29 (2 days)
Total days ideal for growing Winter squash in Texas	0
Total days suitable for growing Winter squash in Texas	177
Days needed for Winter squash to mature and produce harvest	80 - 110
Seed can be planted directly into soil	no
Seed has to be started indoors	yes

Notable temperature facts for growing Winter squash in Texas

Table with days suitable to grow vegetables in Texas

Tolerable temperature range for Winter squash: 50°F to 95°F

	Week	Average temperature	Possible min and max temperature	Suitable for Winter squash
1	January 01 - January 03	45°F to 61°F	30°F to 79°F
2	January 04 - January 10	46°F to 65°F	34°F to 77°F
3	January 11 - January 17	45°F to 64°F	30°F to 78°F
4	January 18 - January 24	45°F to 62°F	30°F to 74°F
5	January 25 - January 31	43°F to 61°F	33°F to 73°F
6	February 01 - February 07	44°F to 64°F	23°F to 78°F
7	February 08 - February 14	42°F to 61°F	23°F to 76°F
8	February 15 - February 21	42°F to 62°F	9°F to 81°F
9	February 22 - February 28	48°F to 67°F	31°F to 81°F
10	March 01 - March 07	49°F to 70°F	28°F to 82°F
11	March 08 - March 14	54°F to 73°F	31°F to 85°F	TRUE
12	March 15 - March 21	52°F to 71°F	38°F to 82°F	TRUE
13	March 22 - March 28	57°F to 77°F	44°F to 88°F	TRUE
14	March 29 - April 04	57°F to 76°F	42°F to 89°F	TRUE
15	April 05 - April 11	59°F to 79°F	49°F to 91°F	TRUE
16	April 12 - April 18	58°F to 78°F	44°F to 89°F	TRUE
17	April 19 - April 25	60°F to 79°F	45°F to 90°F	TRUE
18	April 26 - May 02	63°F to 82°F	53°F to 89°F	TRUE
19	May 03 - May 09	67°F to 85°F	58°F to 94°F	TRUE
20	May 10 - May 16	65°F to 82°F	56°F to 95°F	TRUE
21	May 17 - May 23	69°F to 86°F	62°F to 96°F	TRUE
22	May 24 - May 30	69°F to 85°F	62°F to 94°F	TRUE
23	May 31 - June 06	70°F to 86°F	65°F to 97°F	TRUE
24	June 07 - June 13	73°F to 92°F	65°F to 101°F	TRUE
25	June 14 - June 20	74°F to 93°F	67°F to 101°F	TRUE
26	June 21 - June 27	76°F to 93°F	71°F to 101°F	TRUE
27	June 28 - July 04	75°F to 92°F	71°F to 99°F	TRUE
28	July 05 - July 11	77°F to 93°F	72°F to 102°F	TRUE
29	July 12 - July 18	77°F to 96°F	72°F to 103°F
30	July 19 - July 25	77°F to 95°F	68°F to 103°F	TRUE
31	July 26 - August 01	77°F to 95°F	70°F to 101°F	TRUE
32	August 02 - August 08	77°F to 95°F	72°F to 102°F
33	August 09 - August 15	78°F to 97°F	74°F to 103°F
34	August 16 - August 22	77°F to 95°F	72°F to 103°F
35	August 23 - August 29	76°F to 94°F	73°F to 103°F	TRUE
36	August 30 - September 05	76°F to 93°F	71°F to 100°F	TRUE
37	September 06 - September 12	73°F to 91°F	61°F to 103°F	TRUE
38	September 13 - September 19	72°F to 89°F	67°F to 96°F	TRUE
39	September 20 - September 26	71°F to 89°F	61°F to 97°F	TRUE
40	September 27 - October 03	69°F to 87°F	57°F to 94°F	TRUE
41	October 04 - October 10	66°F to 85°F	57°F to 92°F	TRUE
42	October 11 - October 17	63°F to 82°F	49°F to 94°F	TRUE
43	October 18 - October 24	63°F to 82°F	48°F to 90°F	TRUE
44	October 25 - October 31	55°F to 72°F	36°F to 87°F	TRUE
45	November 01 - November 07	54°F to 73°F	37°F to 84°F	TRUE
46	November 08 - November 14	54°F to 70°F	30°F to 84°F	TRUE
47	November 15 - November 21	51°F to 69°F	38°F to 83°F	TRUE
48	November 22 - November 28	50°F to 66°F	39°F to 78°F	TRUE
49	November 29 - December 05	50°F to 68°F	35°F to 78°F
50	December 06 - December 12	51°F to 69°F	36°F to 80°F	TRUE
51	December 13 - December 19	46°F to 64°F	33°F to 79°F
52	December 20 - December 26	45°F to 63°F	17°F to 79°F
53	December 27 - December 31	49°F to 67°F	32°F to 77°F

Days with suitable temperature for growing Winter squash in Texas

Winter squash details page

For more precise weather statisctics and planting information, please select a County in Texas.

All data is provided “as is” without warranty or any representation of accuracy, timeliness or completeness.

Average daily temperatures were calculated using

Weather data provided by OpenWeather