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.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant pumpkins by referring to the USDA zone info for Le Mars.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Since pumpkins do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Le Mars is April. However, you really should wait until May 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. If you wait any later than that and your pumpkins may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pumpkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Le Mars the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Le Mars and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Le Mars there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pumpkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Le Mars

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Le Mars

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Le Mars.