Winter squash · Sétif, Sétif, Algeria
When to plant winter squashes in Sétif
Main outdoor window
10-24 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
27 March
In Sétif, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
29 Jun - 29 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 Sétif
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
6-20 Mar
Three weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
10-24 Apr
Two weeks after your last frost.
Plant out
10-24 Apr
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
29 Jun - 29 Jul
Winter squashes through the year
Against the frost risk in Sétif
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 Sétif.
The median frost-free season here is 250 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 Sétif
Other vegetables to time
Growing winter squashes in Sétif
When should I plant winter squashes in Sétif?
Aim for 10-24 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 1-15 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will winter squashes be ready to harvest in Sétif?
Expect to start picking around 29 Jun - 29 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.