When to plant pumpkins in Hamilton (New Zealand): 3 December – 18 February

In Hamilton (New Zealand), pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 1 October to 7 January; plant into a greenhouse from 12 November to 18 February; plant out into open ground from 3 December to 18 February. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Whatawhata Berry Farm (farm shop, 11 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in Hamilton (New Zealand): soil, season and weather

In Hamilton (New Zealand) the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 6 August, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 3 December, 119 days later.

Last spring frost	6 August
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	3 December, 119 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	14 June, 194 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	16 February – 3 May
Days left for picking	119
Daylight	13:18 on 22 October, 14:36 on 3 December
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, March, has 9 rainy days

The same dates in Hamilton (New Zealand) hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Zucchini and Watermelon.

Pumpkin in Hamilton (New Zealand): care after planting

Planted on 3 December: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

24 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 Hamilton (New Zealand) during the pumpkin season

About 684 mm of rain falls in the season; March is the driest month (80 mm) and December the wettest (113 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
December	22.7	13.9	113	13	14:45
January	24.2	15.2	90	10	14:29
February	24.8	15.4	86	9	13:30
March	22.6	13.6	80	9	12:22
April	20	11.6	103	10	11:08
May	17.2	9.2	102	12	10:07
June	15.1	7.7	110	12	9:34

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Hamilton (New Zealand), Napier is 30 days earlier and Wellington 14 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Tauranga	79 km	from 4 December	1 day later
Rotorua	94 km	10 December – 29 January	7 days later
Napier	237 km	from 3 November	30 days earlier
Gisborne	259 km	from 7 November	26 days earlier
Palmerston North	288 km	4 December – 24 February	1 day later
Wellington	393 km	from 17 December	14 days later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Hamilton (New Zealand)

Buy plants ready to set out from 3 December to 18 February (from 12 November to 18 February for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 1 October to 7 January. Within 15 km of Hamilton (New Zealand) OpenStreetMap lists 6 garden centres, 2 farm-supply shops, 2 plant nurseries, 1 market and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Made Hamilton — market
Grey Street 401, 3216 Hamilton · Mon–Wed 07:00–20:30; Thu–Fri 07:00–21:30; Sat–Sun 07:00–21:30 · 2 km
Whatawhata Berry Farm — farm shop
Mon closed; Tue–Thu 10:00–18:00; Fri–Sun 09:00–18:00 · 11 km · whatawhataberryfarm.com
Palmers — garden centre
2 km
Hamilton Municipal Nursery — plant nursery
3 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