How to grow pumpkin
Cucurbita pepo (giant pumpkins are C. maxima)
Get your exact dates
The windows below are relative to your frost dates. Enter your ZIP for the calendar dates.
Open the planting calendarWhen to plant pumpkin
Direct sowat your last spring frost to 2 weeks after your last spring frost
Growing conditions
- Days to maturity
- 70 to 120 (from sowing)
- Spacing
- 36 to 60 in apart, rows 72 in
- Planting depth
- 1 in
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6.2 to 6.5
Common problems
- squash vine borer
- squash bug
- striped cucumber beetle
- spotted cucumber beetle
- pickleworm
- aphids
- seed corn maggot
- bacterial wilt
- powdery mildew
- downy mildew
- anthracnose
- fruit rot
Pumpkin by hardiness zone
Planting dates for a typical location in each zone:
Sources
Last updated 2026-06-11.