One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant pumpkins by reviewing the USDA zone info for Longboat Key.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Since pumpkins do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Longboat Key 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. Any later than that and 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in Longboat Key. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Longboat Key is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Longboat Key it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your pumpkins if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Longboat Key

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 Longboat Key

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Longboat Key.