One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 earliest that you can plant pumpkins in California should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Since pumpkins do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in California 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 fully mature. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In California the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for California is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in California you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your pumpkins if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for California

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 California

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