Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Olympia should be looked at to figure out when it's the best time to plant pumpkins.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Since pumpkins are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Olympia 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pumpkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Olympia. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Olympia is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Olympia last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your pumpkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Olympia

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 Olympia

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