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 way of estimating when you can plant pumpkins is to examine the USDA zone info for Ontario.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Pumpkins require warm weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Ontario is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pumpkins may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pumpkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ontario the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ontario and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ontario there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your pumpkins if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ontario

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Ontario

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