One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant pumpkins is to check out the USDA zone info for Gunnison.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

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 Gunnison 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pumpkins may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Gunnison the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gunnison is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Gunnison last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your pumpkins if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gunnison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°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 -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gunnison

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