When to Plant Pumpkins in Vandalia, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Vandalia you can figure out when to plant pumpkins by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Create beautiful hand-made plants at forever-plants.com

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

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

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 Vandalia 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

In Vandalia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Vandalia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Vandalia it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your pumpkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vandalia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Vandalia

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