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

The first opportunity to plant pumpkins in Salem should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Pumpkins are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Salem 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. 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Salem is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your pumpkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

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 Salem

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