When to plant pumpkins in Le Mans: 31 May – 30 July

In Le Mans, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 29 March to 18 June; plant into a greenhouse from 10 May to 30 July; plant out into open ground from 31 May to 30 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Chèvrefeuille (farm shop, 6 km) and Myrtille et Ortensia (farm shop, 7 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in Le Mans: soil, season and weather

In Le Mans the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 2 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 31 May, 59 days later.

Last spring frost	2 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	31 May, 59 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	24 November, 177 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	14 August – 13 October
Days left for picking	102
Daylight	13:51 on 19 April, 15:44 on 31 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, July, has 7 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Le Mans: care after planting

Planted on 31 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

21 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 Le Mans during the pumpkin season

About 436 mm of rain falls in the season; July is the driest month (40 mm) and October the wettest (79 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	19.3	9.6	69	13	15:09
June	23.5	13.7	65	11	16:01
July	25.3	15	40	7	15:41
August	25.2	14.9	46	8	14:21
September	21.9	12.5	63	10	12:38
October	17.3	9.6	79	12	10:55
November	11.7	5.5	74	12	9:17

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Le Mans, Angers is 3 days earlier and Caen 15 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Tours	77 km	31 May – 2 August	same day
Angers	81 km	28 May – 2 August	3 days earlier
Orléans	127 km	2 June – 31 July	2 days later
Caen	139 km	15 June – 10 August	15 days later
Rennes	140 km	1 June – 3 August	1 day later
Nantes	157 km	28 May – 4 August	3 days earlier

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Le Mans

Buy plants ready to set out from 31 May to 30 July (from 10 May to 30 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 29 March to 18 June. Within 15 km of Le Mans OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 16 markets and 8 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Les Fromages de Céline — farm shop · sells: cheese
La Tournerie, 72650 La Bazoge · 15 km · lesfromagesdeceline.fr
Chèvrefeuille — farm shop
Wed, Thu 09:00–19:00; Fri 09:00–19:30; Sat 08:30–17:00 · 6 km · chevrefeuille.net
Ferme de la Moncesière — farm shop
Thu 17:00–19:30 · 13 km
Myrtille et Ortensia — farm shop
Wed 16:00–19:00; Fri 15:00–19:00 · 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.

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