When to plant zucchini in Derby: 22 June – 5 September

In Derby, zucchini: sow for seedlings from 11 May to 15 August; plant into a greenhouse from 1 June to 5 September; plant out into open ground from 22 June to 5 September. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Watergo Farm Shop (farm shop, 5 km) and Croots Farm Shop (farm shop, 8 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Zucchini in Derby: soil, season and weather

In Derby 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 22 June, 71 days later.

Last spring frost	12 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	22 June, 71 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	22 November, 153 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	36
First harvest, if planted in this window	28 July – 11 October
Days left for picking	117
Daylight	16:33 on 1 June, 16:55 on 22 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, August, has 12 rainy days

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

Zucchini in Derby: care after planting

Planted on 22 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Pests and diseases of zucchini to watch for:

Weather in Derby during the zucchini season

About 454 mm of rain falls in the season; August is the driest month (67 mm) and October the wettest (86 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	19.2	10.7	70	12	16:53
July	20.9	12.6	76	14	16:27
August	20.4	12.4	67	12	14:48
September	17.8	10.3	80	13	12:45
October	13.9	7.9	86	14	10:41
November	9.5	4.2	75	13	8:44

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Zucchini in nearby cities

Around Derby, Nottingham is 2 days earlier and Sheffield 7 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Nottingham	22 km	20 June – 6 September	2 days earlier
Leicester	39 km	21 June – 2 September	1 day earlier
Stoke-on-Trent	48 km	20 June – 29 August	2 days earlier
Sheffield	51 km	29 June – 5 September	7 days later
Birmingham	55 km	20 June – 2 September	2 days earlier
Coventry	57 km	21 June – 31 August	1 day earlier

Where to buy zucchini plants and seeds near Derby

Buy plants ready to set out from 22 June to 5 September (from 1 June to 5 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 11 May to 15 August. Within 15 km of Derby OpenStreetMap lists 19 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 5 markets and 13 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Allenton Market — market
Osmaston Road, DE24 8NG Derby · 4 km
Croots Farm Shop — farm shop
Wirksworth Road, DE56 4AQ Belper · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 10:00–16:00 · 8 km · croots.co.uk
Fannys Farm Shop and Kitchen — farm shop
Heage Lane, DE65 6LS Derby · Tue–Sat 09:00–15:00; Sun 09:30–13:00 · 8 km · fannysfarmshop.com
Watergo Farm Shop — farm shop
Watergo Lane, DE3 0DJ Derby · 5 km · watergofarm.co.uk

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