When to plant pumpkins in Castelo Branco: 30 April – 31 August

In Castelo Branco, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 26 February to 20 July; plant into a greenhouse from 9 April to 31 August; plant out into open ground from 30 April to 31 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Agriloja (farm supply, 4 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in Castelo Branco: soil, season and weather

In Castelo Branco the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 17 January, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 30 April, 103 days later.

Last spring frost	17 January
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	30 April, 103 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	26 December, 240 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	14 July – 14 November
Days left for picking	165
Daylight	12:04 on 19 March, 13:50 on 30 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 1 rainy day

The same dates in Castelo Branco hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Zucchini and Watermelon.

Pumpkin in Castelo Branco: care after planting

Planted on 30 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

21 May — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of pumpkin to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Castelo Branco during the pumpkin season

About 476 mm of rain falls in the season; August is the driest month (2 mm) and November the wettest (103 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	21	9.6	77	11	13:14
May	25.5	12.8	46	6	14:21
June	29.8	16.1	32	5	14:59
July	34.6	18.9	3	1	14:44
August	35.1	19.2	2	1	13:46
September	29.5	16.4	36	5	12:30
October	24.7	13.7	84	9	11:12
November	17.4	8.9	103	11	10:00
December	14.7	6.5	93	9	9:22

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant pumpkin later than Castelo Branco; the closest date is in Badajoz, 3 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Guarda	82 km	28 May – 31 July	28 days later
Coimbra	91 km	from 12 May	12 days later
Viseu	100 km	27 May – 15 August	27 days later
Cáceres	103 km	8 May – 29 August	8 days later
Leiria	113 km	from 12 May	12 days later
Badajoz	114 km	3 May – 21 August	3 days later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Castelo Branco

Buy plants ready to set out from 30 April to 31 August (from 9 April to 31 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 26 February to 20 July. Within 15 km of Castelo Branco OpenStreetMap lists 1 garden centre, 2 farm-supply shops and 2 markets (collected 27 October 2026).

Agriloja — farm supply
Rua R LT 32, 6000-790 Castelo Branco · Mon–Sat 08:30–20:00; Sun 09:00–13:00 · 4 km · agriloja.pt
A Minha Planta — garden centre
3 km
Quinta do Claude Chão da Raia — farm supply
15 km
Campo da Feira — market
1 km

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

Questions