What Time of Year Should Pumpkin Seeds be Planted?
By Eulalia Palomo, eHow Contributor 
updated: February 15, 2011
Pumpkins are a fall vegetable crop that lends themselves well to winter dishes.
Pumpkins are a fall crop that is a classic symbol of Halloween. Beyond Jack-O-Lanterns, pumpkins are a healthy and versatile food crop that lends itself to pumpkin pies as well as soups, stews, and a variety of other fall and winter culinary dishes. When planting pumpkins, timing is critical. Plant too soon, and the seeds will rot in the cold soil; too late, and the pumpkins will not be ready in time for the fall harvest.
- For a fall harvest, pumpkins should be planted in the spring. In cold climates, pumpkins take longer to mature and must be planted earlier. In cold, Northern climates where the early growing days are shorter, plant pumpkin seeds in late May or early June. In warmer Southern climates, pumpkin seeds can be planted in late June or early July and still be ready for harvest by late October.
- Before planting pumpkin seeds, determine the soil temperature. Pumpkins germinate best when the soil temperature is 68 degrees or warmer. Insert a garden thermometer into the soil to a depth of 4 inches. Start testing the soil temperature in the spring after the last frost date has passed. Home and garden centers sell thermometers designed to measure soil temperatures.
- Plant pumpkin seeds two to a hole in planting holes 1 inch deep, and then cover them with an inch of soil. Space the planting holes 2 feet apart. Pumpkins are a sprawling, vining plant requiring room to grow and mature. Once the seedlings emerge and produce two true leaves, thin the weaker pumpkin plant from each hole.
- Harvest pumpkins when the skin is hard and it has turned uniformly orange. The size of the ripe pumpkin varies dramatically depending on the variety. Standard Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin varieties commonly weigh 20 to 25 lbs. at harvest while tiny Jack Be Little and Munchkin varieties are a pound or less when mature. Some giant pumpkin varieties are hundreds of pounds. Harvest pumpkins in late fall before the first hard frosts arrive, usually between September and late October.
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