One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Portsmouth you should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant pumpkins.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

You can not plant pumpkins until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Portsmouth 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pumpkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portsmouth. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Portsmouth may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Portsmouth last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pumpkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Portsmouth

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