When to Plant Pumpkins in Scottsbluff, NE

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Scottsbluff can be reffered to in order to figure out when you can 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.

Pumpkins do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost 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 Scottsbluff 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 Scottsbluff the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°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 Scottsbluff and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Scottsbluff it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your pumpkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Scottsbluff

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 Scottsbluff

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