When to plant zucchini in Besançon: 3 June – 1 September

In Besançon, zucchini: sow for seedlings from 22 April to 11 August; plant into a greenhouse from 13 May to 1 September; plant out into open ground from 3 June to 1 September. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include La Grange Melot (farm shop, 10 km) and Le Moulin des Champs Brûlés (farm shop, 15 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Zucchini in Besançon: soil, season and weather

In Besançon the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 12 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the zucchini card — only around 3 June, 52 days later.

Last spring frost	12 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	3 June, 52 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	18 November, 168 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	36
First harvest, if planted in this window	9 July – 7 October
Days left for picking	132
Daylight	14:59 on 13 May, 15:42 on 3 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, August, has 11 rainy days

The same dates in Besançon hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Pumpkin and Watermelon.

Zucchini in Besançon: care after planting

Planted on 3 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Pests and diseases of zucchini to watch for:

Weather in Besançon during the zucchini season

About 601 mm of rain falls in the season; August is the driest month (78 mm) and October the wettest (118 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	24	14.3	113	14	15:54
July	25.6	15.5	87	12	15:34
August	25.7	15.6	78	11	14:17
September	21.5	12.2	87	12	12:37
October	16.7	8.7	118	13	10:56
November	10.2	3.7	118	15	9:22

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Zucchini in nearby cities

Around Besançon, Dijon is 3 days earlier and Fribourg 18 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Dijon	74 km	31 May – 2 September	3 days earlier
Neuchâtel	75 km	6 June – 11 September	3 days later
Lausanne	93 km	19 June – 3 September	16 days later
Fribourg	99 km	21 June – 20 August	18 days later
Mulhouse	113 km	1 June – 31 August	2 days earlier
Bern	113 km	21 June – 17 August	18 days later

Where to buy zucchini plants and seeds near Besançon

Buy plants ready to set out from 3 June to 1 September (from 13 May to 1 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 22 April to 11 August. Within 15 km of Besançon OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 7 markets and 11 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

La Grange Melot — farm shop
Tue, Fri 17:00–19:00; Sat 09:00–12:00 · 10 km
Le Moulin des Champs Brûlés — farm shop
Champs Brûlés, Torpes · 15 km
Ferme bio de They — farm shop
Wed 14:00–18:30; Fri 09:00–12:00, 14:00–18:30; Sat 09:00–12:00 · 15 km
Horticulture Amiot — garden centre
7 km

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

Questions