The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant pumpkins is to look at the USDA zone info for Fairbanks.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

Frost tolerance for pumpkins:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant pumpkins until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Fairbanks is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pumpkins and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pumpkins may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Fairbanks. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -50°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fairbanks is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your pumpkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fairbanks.