🎃 When to Plant Pumpkins

🥬 Vegetable
Warm Season

Direct sow 2 weeks after last frost, or start indoors 3 weeks before

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 May 9 Jun 6 Jun 13
Zone 3B May 15 Apr 24 May 22 May 29
Zone 4A May 8 Apr 17 May 15 May 22
Zone 4B May 1 Apr 10 May 8 May 15
Zone 5A Apr 25 Apr 4 May 2 May 9
Zone 5B Apr 18 Mar 28 Apr 25 May 2
Zone 6A Apr 21 Mar 31 Apr 28 May 5
Zone 6B Apr 10 Mar 20 Apr 17 Apr 24
Zone 7A Apr 5 Mar 15 Apr 12 Apr 19
Zone 7B Mar 28 Mar 7 Apr 4 Apr 11
Zone 8A Mar 20 Feb 27 Mar 27 Apr 3
Zone 8B Mar 12 Feb 19 Mar 19 Mar 26
Zone 9A Feb 28 Feb 7 Mar 7 Mar 14
Zone 9B Feb 15 Jan 25 Feb 22 Mar 1
Zone 10A Feb 1 Jan 11 Feb 8 Feb 15
Zone 10B Jan 15 Dec 25 Jan 22 Jan 29
Zone 11A Jan 1 Dec 11 Jan 8 Jan 15

Pumpkins are the quintessential fall crop — whether you’re growing for jack-o’-lanterns, bies, or record-breaking giants, they need space, heat, and a long season.

Top Growing Tips

  • Plant in hills (3-4 seeds per mound) and thin to the 2 strongest seedlings
  • Vines spread 6-20 feet — give them plenty of room or train them
  • Use black plastic mulch in cooler zones to warm soil and extend the season
  • Plant pie pumpkins (Sugar Pie, Cinderella) for cooking — carving types are stringy
  • Place a board under developing pumpkins to prevent rot
  • Stop watering when vines die back at season’s end for harder skin

Companion Planting

Good companions: corn, beans, marigolds, nasturtiums (Three Sisters concept)

Avoid planting near: potatoes, brassicas

Harvest Timeline

90-120 days from seed; harvest when stem dries and skin resists fingernail scratch