One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The best time to plant pumpkins in Truth or Consequences should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

It's not a good idea to plant pumpkins until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Truth or Consequences 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pumpkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Truth or Consequences. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Truth or Consequences is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Truth or Consequences there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your pumpkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Truth or Consequences

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Truth or Consequences

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Truth or Consequences.