One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The best time to plant pumpkins in Newcastle can 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 the last frost has passed.

Since pumpkins require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Newcastle 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 grow to maturity. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Newcastle. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Newcastle is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Newcastle last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your pumpkins if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newcastle

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Newcastle

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