Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant pumpkins by referring to the USDA zone info for Melbourne.

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 you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Melbourne 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 grow to maturity. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Melbourne. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°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 Melbourne and it is different every year. Half of the time in Melbourne you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your pumpkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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