When to plant pumpkins in Charleston: 12 March – 25 August

In Charleston, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 8 January to 14 July; plant into a greenhouse from 19 February to 25 August; plant out into open ground from 12 March to 25 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Ruke’s Fruits & Vegetables (farm shop, 5 km) and Willie's Roadside Market (farm shop, 14 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in Charleston: soil, season and weather

In Charleston the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 4 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 12 March, 36 days later.

Last spring frost	4 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	12 March, 36 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	20 December, 283 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	26 May – 8 November
Days left for picking	208
Daylight	10:32 on 29 January, 11:50 on 12 March
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, November, has 8 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Charleston: care after planting

Planted on 12 March: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

2 April — 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 Charleston during the pumpkin season

About 1225 mm of rain falls in the season; November is the driest month (76 mm) and August the wettest (201 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
March	20.1	11.6	80	8	11:56
April	23.4	15	99	7	12:58
May	27	19.4	107	12	13:50
June	29.5	22.8	146	16	14:18
July	31	24.7	153	20	14:07
August	29.9	24.1	201	20	13:23
September	28.3	21.7	155	13	12:24
October	24.7	17	87	7	11:24
November	19.9	11.4	76	8	10:29
December	16.5	8.4	121	9	10:00

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Charleston, Jacksonville is 29 days earlier and Greenville 42 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Savannah	135 km	25 February – 29 August	15 days earlier
Columbia	170 km	28 March – 4 August	16 days later
Wilmington	247 km	2 April – 6 August	21 days later
Charlotte	285 km	13 April – 19 July	32 days later
Jacksonville	318 km	11 February – 1 September	29 days earlier
Greenville	326 km	23 April – 28 July	42 days later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Charleston

Buy plants ready to set out from 12 March to 25 August (from 19 February to 25 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 8 January to 14 July. Within 15 km of Charleston OpenStreetMap lists 7 garden centres, 5 markets and 3 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Mount Pleasant Farmers Market — market
Coleman Boulevard 645, 29464 Mount Pleasant · Tue 15:30–19:00 · 5 km · experiencemountpleasant.com
North Charleston Farmers Market — market
Park Circle 4800, 29405 North Charleston · Thu 15:00–19:00 · 12 km
Ruke’s Fruits & Vegetables — farm shop
Mathis Ferry Road 378, 29464 Mount Pleasant · Mon–Sat 10:00–17:00; Sun closed · 5 km
Willie's Roadside Market — farm shop
North US Highway 17 2434, 29464 Mount Pleasant · 14 km · boonehallplantation.com

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.

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