Winter squash · Bengbu, Anhui, China
When to plant winter squashes in Bengbu
Main outdoor window
2-16 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
19 March
In Bengbu, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
21 Jun - 21 Jul
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Bengbu
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Start indoors
26 Feb - 12 Mar
Three weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
2-16 Apr
Two weeks after your last frost.
Plant out
2-16 Apr
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
21 Jun - 21 Jul
Winter squashes through the year
Against the frost risk in Bengbu
Why these dates
Work backwards: sow date plus days to maturity plus two weeks of curing must land before your first autumn frost. That constraint, not the spring date, is what rules this crop out in cold climates.
A light frost that kills the leaves will not ruin ripe fruit, but it stops any further ripening. Unripe squash does not store.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Winter squashes are timed from 3 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Bengbu.
The median frost-free season here is 245 days, against 80 to 110 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Bengbu
Other vegetables to time
Growing winter squashes in Bengbu
When should I plant winter squashes in Bengbu?
Aim for 2-16 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 16-30 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will winter squashes be ready to harvest in Bengbu?
Expect to start picking around 21 Jun - 21 Jul, based on 80 to 110 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will winter squashes tolerate?
A light frost that kills the leaves will not ruin ripe fruit, but it stops any further ripening. Unripe squash does not store.