When to Plant Pumpkins in Carlisle, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant pumpkins in Carlisle should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

You should not plant pumpkins until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

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 Carlisle 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. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Carlisle. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Carlisle and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Carlisle last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your pumpkins in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carlisle

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 Low0°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 Carlisle

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