When to plant pumpkins in Indianapolis: 16 May – 12 July

In Indianapolis, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 14 March to 31 May; plant into a greenhouse from 25 April to 12 July; plant out into open ground from 16 May to 12 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Grounded Plant + Floral Co. (garden centre, 1 km) and Cisco Seeds (farm supply, 10 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in Indianapolis: soil, season and weather

In Indianapolis the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 14 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 16 May, 32 days later.

Last spring frost	14 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	16 May, 32 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	6 November, 174 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	30 July – 25 September
Days left for picking	99
Daylight	12:46 on 4 April, 14:23 on 16 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, November, has 9 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Indianapolis: care after planting

Planted on 16 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

6 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 Indianapolis during the pumpkin season

About 651 mm of rain falls in the season; November is the driest month (72 mm) and July the wettest (124 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	22.9	12.4	120	14	14:21
June	28.4	17.6	89	11	14:58
July	29.7	19.8	124	13	14:44
August	28.5	18.7	88	10	13:46
September	26.2	15.9	76	7	12:30
October	19.5	9.7	82	10	11:12
November	11.3	2.4	72	9	10:01

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Indianapolis, Evansville is 11 days earlier and Fort Wayne 5 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Cincinnati	159 km	13 May – 15 July	3 days earlier
Dayton	168 km	16 May – 15 July	same day
Fort Wayne	169 km	21 May – 8 July	5 days later
Louisville	173 km	7 May – 17 July	9 days earlier
Frankfort	207 km	13 May – 9 July	3 days earlier
Evansville	233 km	5 May – 16 July	11 days earlier

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Indianapolis

Buy plants ready to set out from 16 May to 12 July (from 25 April to 12 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 14 March to 31 May. Within 15 km of Indianapolis OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 2 plant nurseries and 4 markets (collected 20 October 2026).

Grounded Plant + Floral Co. — garden centre
Mon–Sun 10:00–18:00 · 1 km
Cisco Seeds — farm supply
North Shortridge Road 602, 46219 Indianapolis · 10 km
Binford Farmers Market — market
Northview Way 6620, 46220 Indianapolis · May–Sept Sat 08:00–12:00 · 14 km · binford71.org
Viet Hua Food Market — market
Madison Avenue 8031, 46227 Indianapolis · Mon–Sun 09:00–21:00 · 14 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