When to plant pumpkins in Invercargill: 4 December – 11 February

In Invercargill, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 2 October to 31 December; plant into a greenhouse from 13 November to 11 February; plant out into open ground from 4 December to 11 February.

Pumpkin in Invercargill: soil, season and weather

In Invercargill the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 11 August, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 4 December, 115 days later.

Last spring frost	11 August
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	4 December, 115 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	7 June, 186 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	17 February – 26 April
Days left for picking	111
Daylight	13:47 on 23 October, 15:35 on 4 December
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, June, has 14 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Invercargill: care after planting

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

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

25 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 Invercargill during the pumpkin season

About 747 mm of rain falls in the season; June is the driest month (93 mm) and December the wettest (115 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
December	17.4	10.9	115	18	15:46
January	18.4	11.8	115	16	15:24
February	18.4	11.9	105	14	14:00
March	17.2	10.8	97	15	12:29
April	15	9.6	111	16	10:48
May	12.9	7.7	111	17	9:23
June	10.5	5.1	93	14	8:37

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Invercargill, Christchurch is 3 days earlier and Nelson 16 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Queenstown	154 km	16 December – 23 January	12 days later
Dunedin	176 km	3 December – 25 January	1 day earlier
Timaru	318 km	19 December – 7 February	15 days later
Christchurch	464 km	1 December – 8 February	3 days earlier
Nelson	694 km	20 December – 24 February	16 days later
Blenheim	705 km	11 December – 3 February	7 days later

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