When to plant pumpkins in Lecce: 3 May – 2 August

In Lecce, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 1 March to 21 June; plant into a greenhouse from 12 April to 2 August; plant out into open ground from 3 May to 2 August.

Pumpkin in Lecce: soil, season and weather

In Lecce the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 16 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 3 May, 76 days later.

Last spring frost	16 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	3 May, 76 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	27 November, 208 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	17 July – 16 October
Days left for picking	133
Daylight	12:12 on 22 March, 13:59 on 3 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, July, has 3 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Lecce: care after planting

Planted on 3 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

24 May — 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 Lecce during the pumpkin season

About 397 mm of rain falls in the season; July is the driest month (14 mm) and November the wettest (110 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	24	13.9	77	10	14:24
June	30.3	18.9	33	5	15:02
July	33.4	21.3	14	3	14:47
August	32.9	21.5	33	6	13:48
September	28.3	18.4	54	8	12:30
October	23.1	14.2	76	9	11:11
November	18.6	10.9	110	12	9:58

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Lecce, Foggia is 10 days earlier and Potenza 42 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Taranto	79 km	from 25 April	8 days earlier
Bari	139 km	from 4 May	1 day later
Cosenza	201 km	3 June – 5 August	31 days later
Potenza	202 km	14 June – 31 July	42 days later
Foggia	252 km	23 April – 25 August	10 days earlier
Salerno	288 km	7 June – 16 August	35 days later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Lecce

Buy plants ready to set out from 3 May to 2 August (from 12 April to 2 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 1 March to 21 June. Within 15 km of Lecce OpenStreetMap lists 1 garden centre, 7 markets and 2 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Mercato Porta Rudiae — market
Via Adua 62, 73100 Lecce · Fri–Sat 06:30–14:00, 17:00–20:00; Thu 06:30–14:00; Sun 07:00–14:00; Sept–Jun Mon–Wed 06:30–14:00, 17:00–20:00; Jul–Aug Mon–Wed 06:30–14:00 · 1 km
Piazza Giuseppe Libertini — market
24/7 · 1 km
Area Mercatale di Monteroni — market
Località Mercato · 7 km
Zoo garden — garden centre
14 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