One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant pumpkins by checking out the USDA zone info for Mexia.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Pumpkins do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Mexia 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 really do well. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mexia the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mexia is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mexia there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your pumpkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mexia

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 Mexia

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