When to plant winter squash
In zone 8, most of the UK: plant out from May to June. First harvest about 100 days later.
Growing stages
Winter squash: calendar by hardiness zone
| Zone | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | |||||||
| Zone 7 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | |||||||
| Zone 8reference | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | ||||||
| Zone 9 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | ||||
| Zone 10 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest |
- Zone 6
- −23 to −18 °C (−10 to 0 °F): high mountains
- Zone 7
- −18 to −12 °C (0 to 10 °F): upland Britain, eastern France, the Alps
- Zone 8
- −12 to −7 °C (10 to 20 °F): most of the UK and France
- Zone 9
- −7 to −1 °C (20 to 30 °F): south-west England, Brittany, Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts
- Zone 10
- −1 to 4 °C (30 to 40 °F): Isles of Scilly, the French Riviera, coastal Corsica
Indicative months. A cold year or a garden at altitude shifts everything by a month; watch the frosts too.
Winter squash in practice
- Spacing
- 150 cm along the row, 150 cm between rows
- Sun
- full sun
- Watering
- high
- Difficulty
- easy
- In a pot
- no
- Support
- none
- Family
- Cucurbits (Cucurbitaceae)
Good companions for winter squash
Keep apart
Questions about winter squash
When to plant winter squash?
In zone 8: plant out from May to June. The four other zones are in the calendar above; at altitude or after a long winter, aim for the end of the window.
How long until harvest?
About 100 days after planting in zone 8, then the harvest lasts about 30 days.
How far apart?
150 cm between plants along the row and 150 cm between rows.
Can you grow winter squash in a pot?
Open ground is better: the crop needs room and depth that a pot does not give.
What to plant nearby?
Good companions: dwarf bean, climbing bean and sweet corn. Keep apart: potato.
Updated 20 October 2026, Hortipix catalogue version 1. Windows still being checked against Le Guide Clause, Vilmorin and Terre vivante (RHS and Cornell for the UK and the US), compared with OpenFarm (CC0). They remain indicative.