When to plant pumpkins in Cusco: 24 November – 18 February

In Cusco, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 22 September to 7 January; plant into a greenhouse from 3 November to 18 February; plant out into open ground from 24 November to 18 February.

Pumpkin in Cusco: soil, season and weather

In Cusco the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 3 August, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 24 November, 113 days later.

Last spring frost	3 August
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	24 November, 113 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	14 June, 203 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	7 February – 3 May
Days left for picking	128
Daylight	12:22 on 13 October, 12:49 on 24 November
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, June, has 2 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Cusco: care after planting

Planted on 24 November: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

15 December — 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 Cusco during the pumpkin season

About 847 mm of rain falls in the season; June is the driest month (6 mm) and January the wettest (187 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
November	16.8	6	118	21	12:44
December	15.8	6.2	155	24	12:55
January	15	5.9	187	26	12:50
February	14.7	6.3	163	25	12:32
March	14.7	5.7	135	23	12:11
April	15	4.7	59	15	11:48
May	15.4	3.7	24	8	11:30
June	15.6	2.5	6	2	11:20

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant pumpkin earlier than Cusco; the closest date is in Ayacucho, 17 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Ayacucho	247 km	7 November – 3 February	17 days earlier
Puno	332 km	13 October – 29 December	42 days earlier
La Paz	527 km	1 November – 24 December	23 days earlier
Oruro	719 km	19 October – 3 January	36 days earlier
Cochabamba	756 km	2 September – 25 February	83 days earlier
Sucre	942 km	21 August – 5 March	95 days earlier

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Cusco

Buy plants ready to set out from 24 November to 18 February (from 3 November to 18 February for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 22 September to 7 January. Within 15 km of Cusco OpenStreetMap lists 9 farm-supply shops and 23 markets (collected 20 October 2026).

Mercado Molino I — market
1 km
Asociacion de Comerciantes Las Poderosas del Altiplano — market
1 km
Mercado El Molino II — market
1 km
Mercado Molino II — 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