When to plant zucchini in New Orleans: 23 February – 28 September

In New Orleans, zucchini: sow for seedlings from 12 January to 7 September; plant into a greenhouse from 2 February to 28 September; plant out into open ground from 23 February to 28 September. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Farmer's (farm shop, 3 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Zucchini in New Orleans: soil, season and weather

In New Orleans the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 22 January, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the zucchini card — only around 23 February, 32 days later.

Last spring frost	22 January
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	23 February, 32 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	15 December, 295 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	36
First harvest, if planted in this window	31 March – 3 November
Days left for picking	259
Daylight	10:47 on 2 February, 11:22 on 23 February
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 8 rainy days

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

Zucchini in New Orleans: care after planting

Planted on 23 February: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Pests and diseases of zucchini to watch for:

Weather in New Orleans during the zucchini season

About 1646 mm of rain falls in the season; November is the driest month (79 mm) and August the wettest (230 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
February	20.2	11.8	118	12	11:08
March	22.7	14.6	130	12	11:57
April	25.1	17	110	12	12:53
May	28.6	21.1	155	14	13:39
June	30.8	24.1	208	19	14:04
July	31.2	25.1	226	23	13:54
August	31.2	25.4	230	21	13:15
September	29.8	23.5	150	15	12:22
October	26.4	19.2	102	9	11:29
November	21.5	13.9	79	8	10:40
December	18.6	11.1	138	11	10:14

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Zucchini in nearby cities

1 of the nearest cities share New Orleans's date.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Gulfport	108 km	25 February – 7 September	2 days later
Baton Rouge	119 km	3 March – 22 September	8 days later
Lafayette	189 km	1 March – 19 September	6 days later
Mobile	206 km	24 February – 28 September	1 day later
Jackson	261 km	16 March – 11 September	21 days later
Pensacola	280 km	23 February – 2 October	same day

Where to buy zucchini plants and seeds near New Orleans

Buy plants ready to set out from 23 February to 28 September (from 2 February to 28 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 12 January to 7 September. Within 15 km of New Orleans OpenStreetMap lists 7 garden centres, 3 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Farmers Market Pavilion — market
Mon–Sun 10:00–18:00 · 2 km
Farmer's — farm shop
Hagan Ave 519 · Mon–Sat 10:00–19:00; Sun 11:00–18:00 · 3 km · farmersnola.com
The Plant Gallery — garden centre
5 km · theplantgallery.com
Home Depot garden center — garden centre
1 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