When to plant pumpkins in Columbus: 20 May – 8 July

In Columbus, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 18 March to 27 May; plant into a greenhouse from 29 April to 8 July; plant out into open ground from 20 May to 8 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Oakland Nursery (garden centre, 8 km) and Walmart Garden Center (garden centre, 13 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in Columbus: soil, season and weather

In Columbus the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 22 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 20 May, 28 days later.

Last spring frost	22 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	20 May, 28 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	2 November, 166 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	3 August – 21 September
Days left for picking	91
Daylight	12:57 on 8 April, 14:31 on 20 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, September, has 9 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Columbus: care after planting

Planted on 20 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

10 June — 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 Columbus during the pumpkin season

About 716 mm of rain falls in the season; September is the driest month (78 mm) and July the wettest (128 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	22.6	12	126	16	14:22
June	27.4	16.8	119	13	14:59
July	29.4	19.5	128	14	14:45
August	28.3	18.3	100	12	13:47
September	26	15.5	78	9	12:30
October	19.3	9.3	86	9	11:12
November	11.2	2.1	79	9	10:00

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Columbus, Cincinnati is 7 days earlier and Cleveland 8 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Dayton	104 km	16 May – 15 July	4 days earlier
Cincinnati	159 km	13 May – 15 July	7 days earlier
Toledo (United States)	193 km	24 May – 13 July	4 days later
Cleveland	203 km	28 May – 27 July	8 days later
Charleston, West Virginia	214 km	15 May – 13 July	5 days earlier
Fort Wayne	220 km	21 May – 8 July	1 day later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Columbus

Buy plants ready to set out from 20 May to 8 July (from 29 April to 8 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 18 March to 27 May. Within 15 km of Columbus OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 9 markets and 2 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Littleton’s Market — market
8 km
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
Morse Road 3900, 43219 Columbus · 24/7 · 13 km · walmart.com
Oakland Nursery — garden centre
Oakland Park Avenue 1156, 43224 Columbus · Sun 08:00–18:00; Mon–Sat 09:00–20:00 · 8 km
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
Bethel Road 2700, 43220 Columbus · 14 km · walmart.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.

Questions