When to plant pumpkins in La Rochelle: 28 May – 17 August

In La Rochelle, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 26 March to 6 July; plant into a greenhouse from 7 May to 17 August; plant out into open ground from 28 May to 17 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Boucard Horticulture (garden centre, 3 km) and Pépinières Rouberty (garden centre, 6 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in La Rochelle: soil, season and weather

In La Rochelle the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 14 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 28 May, 103 days later.

Last spring frost	14 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	28 May, 103 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	12 December, 198 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	11 August – 31 October
Days left for picking	123
Daylight	13:35 on 16 April, 15:24 on 28 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, July, has 7 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in La Rochelle: care after planting

Planted on 28 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

18 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 La Rochelle during the pumpkin season

About 602 mm of rain falls in the season; July is the driest month (33 mm) and November the wettest (109 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	19.2	11.9	70	12	14:57
June	22.7	15.7	68	11	15:45
July	24.5	17.1	33	7	15:26
August	24.9	16.9	43	8	14:12
September	22.4	14.5	64	10	12:36
October	18.6	11.8	107	13	10:59
November	13.6	7.7	109	14	9:28
December	10.9	5.7	108	14	8:39

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

3 of the nearest cities share La Rochelle's date.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Nantes	122 km	28 May – 4 August	same day
Poitiers	123 km	30 May – 25 July	2 days later
Angers	153 km	28 May – 2 August	same day
Bordeaux	153 km	28 May – 5 August	same day
Limoges	190 km	6 June – 2 August	9 days later
Tours	196 km	31 May – 2 August	3 days later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near La Rochelle

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 May to 17 August (from 7 May to 17 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 26 March to 6 July. Within 15 km of La Rochelle OpenStreetMap lists 10 garden centres, 5 markets and 6 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

La ferme du Treuil Charré — farm shop
12 km
Boucard Horticulture — garden centre
Impasse du Clavier 7, 17140 Lagord · Tue–Sat 09:00–12:00, 14:00–18:30 · 3 km · boucard-horticulture.fr
Pépinières Rouberty — garden centre
Rue du Grand Chemin 42, 17139 Dompierre-sur-Mer · Mon–Sat 08:30–12:00, 14:00–18:00; public holidays closed · 6 km · pepinieresrouberty.com
Gillardeau Plantes Import — garden centre
Rue Nationale, 17220 La Jarne · Mon–Sat 08:30–18:00 · 9 km · pepinieres-gillardeau.com

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.

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