When to plant pumpkins
Pumpkins are frost-tender and need a long, warm season. Sow seed directly once soil is 65°F or warmer, roughly one to four weeks after the last frost. For a Halloween harvest, count back from October 31 by the variety’s days to maturity (usually 90–120 days), which puts sowing in late May to early July in most of the US.
Too early is the bigger risk: seed rots in cold soil, and pumpkins sown in early spring are ripe and starting to soften by September. Match the sowing date to when you want them.
- Optional: start indoors in pots
- 2–3 weeks before last frost
- Sow seed outside
- 1–4 weeks after last frost
- Frost
- Frost-tender: killed at 32°F
- Soil temp
- 65°F (18°C) or warmer
- Depth
- 1 in
- Spacing
- 48 in apart, rows 72 in
- Harvest
- 90–120 days
Your dates for pumpkins
Tips for growing pumpkins
- Sow three or four seeds per hill, then thin to the two strongest plants.
- Pumpkin roots hate disturbance; if starting indoors, use biodegradable pots and plant out after two to three weeks.
- Give each hill a lot of room: vines of large varieties run 10–20 feet.
- Harvest when the rind resists a fingernail and the stem turns corky; cut with 3–4 inches of stem.
Choosing neighbours? See companion plants for pumpkins. Working out how many fit? Use the spacing calculator.
Pumpkins: common timing questions
When should I plant pumpkins for Halloween?
Subtract the variety’s days to maturity plus about ten days from October 31. For a 100-day variety that means planting around mid-July in the warm South, or late May to mid-June in the North, where cooler weather slows growth.
Is it too late to plant pumpkin seeds?
Compare days left before your first fall frost with the days to maturity on the seed packet. Mini pumpkins (85–95 days) can go in later than giant types.