One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when you can plant pumpkins is to look at the USDA zone info for Atherton.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Since pumpkins are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant pumpkins and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Atherton the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Atherton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Atherton it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your pumpkins if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atherton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Atherton

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