When to plant pumpkins in Las Cruces: 5 April – 30 July

In Las Cruces, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 1 February to 18 June; plant into a greenhouse from 15 March to 30 July; plant out into open ground from 5 April to 30 July.

Pumpkin in Las Cruces: soil, season and weather

In Las Cruces the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 28 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 5 April, 36 days later.

Last spring frost	28 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	5 April, 36 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	24 November, 233 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	19 June – 13 October
Days left for picking	158
Daylight	11:15 on 22 February, 12:38 on 5 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, April, has 1 rainy day

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

Pumpkin in Las Cruces: care after planting

Planted on 5 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

26 April — 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 Las Cruces during the pumpkin season

About 157 mm of rain falls in the season; April is the driest month (4 mm) and August the wettest (40 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	27	11.3	4	1	12:57
May	31.4	15.5	4	1	13:48
June	36.1	21	24	3	14:15
July	36.2	22.5	26	5	14:05
August	34.8	21.7	40	5	13:22
September	32	18.4	19	4	12:24
October	26.8	12.9	26	3	11:25
November	20.1	6.4	14	2	10:31

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Las Cruces, Chihuahua is 36 days earlier and Santa Fe (United States) 28 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
El Paso	67 km	23 March – 10 August	13 days earlier
Ciudad Juárez	77 km	23 March – 10 August	13 days earlier
Albuquerque	308 km	18 April – 15 July	13 days later
Santa Fe (United States)	384 km	3 May – 1 July	28 days later
Tucson	390 km	7 March – 23 August	29 days earlier
Chihuahua	415 km	28 February – 13 August	36 days earlier

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Las Cruces

Buy plants ready to set out from 5 April to 30 July (from 15 March to 30 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 1 February to 18 June. Within 15 km of Las Cruces OpenStreetMap lists 2 garden centres and 1 market (collected 28 October 2026).

Peddler's Pavillion — market
West Picacho Avenue 2400 · 3 km · peddlerspavilion.net
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
2 km
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
7 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