When to plant pumpkins in La Rioja: 30 August – 18 February

In La Rioja, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 28 June to 7 January; plant into a greenhouse from 9 August to 18 February; plant out into open ground from 30 August to 18 February.

Pumpkin in La Rioja: soil, season and weather

In La Rioja the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 17 July, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 30 August, 44 days later.

Last spring frost	17 July
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	30 August, 44 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	14 June, 289 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	13 November – 3 May
Days left for picking	214
Daylight	10:29 on 19 July, 11:26 on 30 August
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 1 rainy day

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

Pumpkin in La Rioja: care after planting

Planted on 30 August: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

20 September — 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 La Rioja during the pumpkin season

About 522 mm of rain falls in the season; August is the driest month (4 mm) and January the wettest (130 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
August	22.3	8.7	4	1	11:03
September	26.7	12.3	9	1	11:53
October	29.6	15.8	39	4	12:46
November	33.2	19.6	39	5	13:35
December	34.4	21.5	77	7	14:01
January	34.7	22.7	130	9	13:49
February	32.8	21.8	74	9	13:07
March	30.1	19.6	76	7	12:18
April	25.4	15.6	44	6	11:24
May	20.6	11.1	22	4	10:40
June	17.2	7.1	8	2	10:16

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

1 of the nearest cities share La Rioja's date.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca	148 km	30 August – 3 March	same day
San Juan	286 km	18 September – 23 February	19 days later
San Miguel de Tucumán	331 km	from 15 September	16 days later
Córdoba	341 km	1 October – 18 February	32 days later
Copiapó	408 km	8 September – 27 February	9 days later
Mendoza	430 km	19 September – 20 February	20 days later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near La Rioja

Buy plants ready to set out from 30 August to 18 February (from 9 August to 18 February for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 28 June to 7 January. Within 15 km of La Rioja OpenStreetMap lists 2 markets (collected 28 October 2026).

El Gato Negro — market
Lamadrid 401, 5300 La Rioja · 1 km
Boot Mini market — 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