When to plant zucchini in Santa Barbara: 14 May – 28 September

In Santa Barbara, zucchini: sow for seedlings from 2 April to 7 September; plant into a greenhouse from 23 April to 28 September; plant out into open ground from 14 May to 28 September. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include 7 Day Nursery (garden centre, 4 km) and La Sumida Nursery (garden centre, 10 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Zucchini in Santa Barbara: soil, season and weather

In Santa Barbara the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 15 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the zucchini card — only around 14 May, 60 days later.

Last spring frost	15 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	14 May, 60 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	15 December, 215 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	36
First harvest, if planted in this window	19 June – 3 November
Days left for picking	179
Daylight	13:18 on 23 April, 13:55 on 14 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 0 rainy days

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

Zucchini in Santa Barbara: care after planting

Planted on 14 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Pests and diseases of zucchini to watch for:

Weather in Santa Barbara during the zucchini season

About 207 mm of rain falls in the season; July is the driest month (0 mm) and December the wettest (112 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.2	9.4	13	2	13:57
June	25.7	13.8	3	1	14:27
July	28.8	17	0	0	14:15
August	29.1	17.1	3	1	13:28
September	26.8	15	10	2	12:25
October	23.7	11.3	20	1	11:22
November	19	7.1	46	4	10:23
December	15.7	4.9	112	6	9:52

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Zucchini in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant zucchini earlier than Santa Barbara; the closest date is in San Jose, 19 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Bakersfield	122 km	2 April – 27 September	42 days earlier
Riverside	218 km	2 April – 2 October	42 days earlier
Fresno	259 km	10 April – 18 September	34 days earlier
San Jose	380 km	from 25 April	19 days earlier
Ensenada	405 km	29 March – 27 September	46 days earlier
Stockton	419 km	24 April – 16 September	20 days earlier

Where to buy zucchini plants and seeds near Santa Barbara

Buy plants ready to set out from 14 May to 28 September (from 23 April to 28 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 2 April to 7 September. Within 15 km of Santa Barbara OpenStreetMap lists 4 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 2 plant nurseries, 1 market and 1 farm shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Botanic Gardens Nursery — plant nursery
4 km
Por La Mar Nursery — plant nursery
10 km
7 Day Nursery — garden centre
State Street 3301, 93105 Santa Barbara · Mon–Sun 09:00–18:00+ · 4 km · 7daynursery.com
La Sumida Nursery — garden centre
South Patterson Avenue 165, 93111 Santa Barbara · Mon–Sat 08:00–17:00; Sun 10:00–16:00 · 10 km · lasumida.com

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