When to Plant Pumpkins in Shasta Lake, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Shasta Lake you should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant pumpkins.


Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

You should not plant pumpkins until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pumpkins
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pumpkins
Probably not a good time to plant pumpkins

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Shasta Lake 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pumpkins may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pumpkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Shasta Lake the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Shasta Lake may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Shasta Lake you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your pumpkins if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shasta Lake

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Shasta Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Shasta Lake.