One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Muskegon it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant pumpkins.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant pumpkins until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Muskegon 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 really do well. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Muskegon. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Muskegon is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Muskegon it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your pumpkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Muskegon

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 Muskegon

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