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Pumpkins

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When to plant pumpkins

Long season: count back about 100 days from your first autumn frost to find the latest sowing date. Cure in the sun before storing.

Photo: George Chernilevsky, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The rules we use

Frost
Tender: killed by frost. Goes out 1–2 weeks after the average last frost.
Start indoors
3–4 weeks before planting out, or sow directly outside
Soil warm enough
Weekly mean around 15°C59°F or more
Heat limit
Average highs above 36°C97°F while it matures (flowers drop)
Days to harvest
About 100 days from sowing in warm weather; longer when it is cool
Picking
About 4 weeks from one planting

General guidance, kept on the cautious side. Varieties differ: check the seed packet. How the dates are worked out.

At a glance

Grows outdoors in
75 of 89 cities
Earliest start (north)
Orlando, January 1
Latest start (north)
London, June 5
Can go in this week
14 cities
No outdoor window
Seattle, Anchorage, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hobart

Pumpkins: city by city

Sorted from the earliest start after midwinter to the latest. Southern-hemisphere cities follow, with their seasons six months on.

Sow indoorsSow or plant outdoorsHarvestFrost seasonToday

Northern hemisphere
OrlandoFlorida
TampaFlorida
MiamiFlorida
HonoluluHawaii
Los AngelesCalifornia
PhoenixArizona
JacksonvilleFlorida
HoustonTexas
New OrleansLouisiana
San AntonioTexas
TucsonArizona
San DiegoCalifornia
AustinTexas
Las VegasNevada
DallasTexas
CharlestonSouth Carolina
El PasoTexas
FresnoCalifornia
BirminghamAlabama
Little RockArkansas
AtlantaGeorgia
SacramentoCalifornia
MemphisTennessee
San JoseCalifornia
CharlotteNorth Carolina
TulsaOklahoma
RaleighNorth Carolina
NashvilleTennessee
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
RichmondVirginia
St. LouisMissouri
LouisvilleKentucky
BaltimoreMaryland
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
Kansas CityMissouri
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
CincinnatiOhio
PhiladelphiaPennsylvania
IndianapolisIndiana
ColumbusOhio
PittsburghPennsylvania
OmahaNebraska
Des MoinesIowa
New YorkNew York
ClevelandOhio
Salt Lake CityUtah
MinneapolisMinnesota
DetroitMichigan
ChicagoIllinois
BostonMassachusetts
DenverColorado
San FranciscoCalifornia
BoiseIdaho
MadisonWisconsin
FargoNorth Dakota
MilwaukeeWisconsin
MontrealQuebec
BuffaloNew York
TorontoOntario
OttawaOntario
PortlandOregon
BurlingtonVermont
PortlandMaine
BillingsMontana
VancouverBritish Columbia
SpokaneWashington
WinnipegManitoba
LondonEngland
Southern hemisphere
BrisbaneQueensland
PerthWestern Australia
SydneyNew South Wales
AdelaideSouth Australia
MelbourneVictoria
AucklandNew Zealand
CanberraAustralian Capital Territory

Swipe sideways to see the whole year →

Dates

CitySow indoorsSow outdoorsHarvest
Orlando Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Tampa Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Miami Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Honolulu Hawaii–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Los Angeles CaliforniaJan 7 – Feb 3Feb 4 – Dec 13Jan 1 – Dec 31
Phoenix ArizonaJan 17 – Feb 13Feb 14 – Mar 23May 16 – Jul 2
Jacksonville FloridaJan 24 – Feb 20Feb 21 – Dec 11Jan 1 – Dec 31
Houston TexasJan 24 – Feb 20Feb 21 – Sep 13May 22 – Dec 27
New Orleans LouisianaJan 29 – Feb 25Feb 26 – Dec 2Jan 1 – Dec 31
San Antonio TexasFeb 2 – Mar 1Mar 2 – May 31, Jun 22 – Sep 3May 26 – Dec 2
Tucson ArizonaFeb 2 – Mar 1Mar 2 – Apr 3, Aug 3 – Sep 3May 30 – Jul 14, Oct 12 – Dec 8
San Diego CaliforniaFeb 3 – Mar 2Mar 3 – Dec 8Jun 29 – Jun 14
Austin TexasFeb 6 – Mar 5Mar 6 – May 30, Jun 24 – Aug 31Jun 1 – Dec 2
Las Vegas NevadaFeb 16 – Mar 15Mar 16 – Apr 10Jun 9 – Jul 20
Dallas TexasFeb 19 – Mar 18Mar 19 – May 21, Jun 25 – Aug 24Jun 12 – Aug 26, Sep 3 – Nov 28
Charleston South CarolinaFeb 22 – Mar 21Mar 22 – Aug 28Jun 17 – Dec 29
El Paso TexasFeb 25 – Mar 24Mar 25 – Apr 20, Jun 18 – Aug 18Jun 18 – Jul 29, Aug 27 – Nov 19
Fresno CaliforniaFeb 28 – Mar 27Mar 28 – May 3, Aug 12 – Aug 19Jun 24 – Aug 11, Oct 27 – Dec 8
Birmingham AlabamaMar 4 – Mar 31Apr 1 – Aug 12Jun 25 – Nov 10
Little Rock ArkansasMar 5 – Apr 1Apr 2 – Aug 11Jun 24 – Nov 9
Atlanta GeorgiaMar 7 – Apr 3Apr 4 – Aug 8Jun 27 – Nov 7
Sacramento CaliforniaMar 10 – Apr 6Apr 7 – Aug 17Jul 5 – Dec 11
Memphis TennesseeMar 11 – Apr 7Apr 8 – Aug 11Jun 29 – Nov 15
San Jose CaliforniaMar 11 – Apr 7Apr 8 – Aug 17Jul 18 – Dec 28
Charlotte North CarolinaMar 12 – Apr 8Apr 9 – Aug 5Jul 1 – Nov 2
Tulsa OklahomaMar 14 – Apr 10Apr 11 – Aug 6Jul 3 – Nov 3
Raleigh North CarolinaMar 16 – Apr 12Apr 13 – Aug 4Jul 5 – Nov 3
Nashville TennesseeMar 16 – Apr 12Apr 13 – Aug 5Jul 4 – Nov 2
Oklahoma City OklahomaMar 17 – Apr 13Apr 14 – Aug 6Jul 2 – Nov 1
Richmond VirginiaMar 22 – Apr 18Apr 19 – Aug 3Jul 10 – Nov 3
St. Louis MissouriMar 26 – Apr 22Apr 23 – Jul 28Jul 12 – Oct 25
Louisville KentuckyMar 26 – Apr 22Apr 23 – Jul 31Jul 13 – Nov 2
Baltimore MarylandMar 29 – Apr 25Apr 26 – Aug 1Jul 16 – Nov 14
Washington District of ColumbiaMar 29 – Apr 25Apr 26 – Jul 31Jul 16 – Nov 16
Kansas City MissouriMar 29 – Apr 25Apr 26 – Jul 28Jul 15 – Nov 1
Albuquerque New MexicoMar 30 – Apr 26Apr 27 – Jul 27Jul 17 – Nov 2
Cincinnati OhioApr 1 – Apr 28Apr 29 – Jul 25Jul 19 – Oct 24
Philadelphia PennsylvaniaApr 5 – May 2May 3 – Jul 29Jul 22 – Nov 9
Indianapolis IndianaApr 6 – May 3May 4 – Jul 23Jul 23 – Oct 25
Columbus OhioApr 7 – May 4May 5 – Jul 22Jul 25 – Oct 26
Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaApr 9 – May 6May 7 – Jul 20Jul 27 – Oct 27
Omaha NebraskaApr 10 – May 7May 8 – Jul 19Jul 26 – Oct 20
Des Moines IowaApr 11 – May 8May 9 – Jul 17Jul 28 – Oct 19
New York New YorkApr 13 – May 10May 11 – Jul 25Jul 31 – Nov 12
Cleveland OhioApr 15 – May 12May 13 – Jul 19Aug 2 – Nov 2
Salt Lake City UtahApr 17 – May 14May 15 – Jul 20Aug 3 – Oct 30
Minneapolis MinnesotaApr 18 – May 15May 16 – Jul 9Aug 5 – Oct 17
Detroit MichiganApr 19 – May 16May 17 – Jul 15Aug 6 – Oct 28
Chicago IllinoisApr 20 – May 17May 18 – Jul 16Aug 8 – Oct 29
Boston MassachusettsApr 22 – May 19May 20 – Jul 16Aug 10 – Nov 1
Denver ColoradoApr 23 – May 20May 21 – Jul 10Aug 9 – Oct 7
San Francisco CaliforniaApr 23 – May 20May 21 – Jul 16Sep 30 – Feb 5
Boise IdahoApr 24 – May 21May 22 – Jul 14Aug 13 – Oct 20
Madison WisconsinApr 25 – May 22May 23 – Jul 3Aug 17 – Oct 9
Fargo North DakotaApr 26 – May 23May 24 – Jun 30Aug 13 – Sep 29
Milwaukee WisconsinApr 27 – May 24May 25 – Jul 8Aug 18 – Oct 24
Montreal QuebecApr 27 – May 24May 25 – Jul 1Aug 20 – Oct 8
Buffalo New YorkApr 29 – May 26May 27 – Jul 7Aug 23 – Oct 25
Toronto OntarioApr 29 – May 26May 27 – Jul 3Aug 21 – Oct 8
Ottawa OntarioApr 29 – May 26May 27 – Jun 25Aug 25 – Oct 1
Portland OregonMay 1 – May 28May 29 – Jun 30Sep 6 – Nov 4
Burlington VermontMay 2 – May 29May 30 – Jul 1Aug 27 – Oct 14
Portland MaineMay 2 – May 29May 30 – Jun 28Aug 29 – Oct 14
Billings MontanaMay 4 – May 31Jun 1 – Jul 1Aug 22 – Oct 6
Vancouver British ColumbiaMay 5 – May 18Jun 2 – Jun 8Sep 28 – Oct 28
Spokane WashingtonMay 6 – Jun 1Jun 3 – Jun 22Sep 2 – Oct 14
Winnipeg ManitobaMay 7 – May 21Jun 4 – Jun 11Sep 6 – Sep 21
London EnglandMay 8 – May 20Jun 5 – Jun 10Oct 9 – Nov 9
Brisbane QueenslandJul 11 – Aug 4Aug 5 – Jul 10Jan 1 – Dec 31
Perth Western AustraliaAug 9 – Sep 5Sep 6 – Jun 18Dec 19 – Dec 15
Sydney New South WalesAug 13 – Sep 9Sep 10 – Jun 3Dec 24 – Dec 17
Adelaide South AustraliaSep 4 – Oct 1Oct 2 – Feb 18Jan 10 – Sep 10
Melbourne VictoriaSep 22 – Oct 19Oct 20 – Jan 31Feb 2 – Jul 16, Jul 21 – Aug 17
Auckland New ZealandSep 30 – Oct 27Oct 28 – Feb 4Feb 11 – Aug 26
Canberra Australian Capital TerritoryOct 8 – Nov 4Nov 5 – Jan 7Feb 12 – May 2
Seattle WashingtonNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Anchorage AlaskaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Birmingham EnglandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Manchester EnglandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Bristol EnglandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Cardiff WalesNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Edinburgh ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Glasgow ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Belfast Northern IrelandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Dublin IrelandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Calgary AlbertaThe frost-free season is too short outdoors (it needs about 124 days). Grow under cover, or choose early varieties.
Edmonton AlbertaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Halifax Nova ScotiaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Hobart TasmaniaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.

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