When to plant pumpkins in Locarno: 30 May – 9 July

In Locarno, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 28 March to 28 May; plant into a greenhouse from 9 May to 9 July; plant out into open ground from 30 May to 9 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Schober Giardini (garden centre, 2 km) and Brico SA (garden centre, 3 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in Locarno: soil, season and weather

In the median year the top 7 cm of soil in Locarno does not reach 18 °C, the minimum on the pumpkin card, before August; the date follows the last frost (23 May), and the bed stays cooler than the card asks. 115 days separate planting out (30 May) from the first autumn frost (22 September); the card's 75 days to the first harvest leave 40 for picking, so a start 5 weeks late would still fit.

Last spring frost	23 May
First autumn frost	22 September, 115 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	13 August – 22 September
Days left for picking	40
Daylight	13:41 on 18 April, 15:28 on 30 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, September, has 16 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Locarno: care after planting

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

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

20 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 Locarno during the pumpkin season

About 1021 mm of rain falls in the season; September is the driest month (156 mm) and June the wettest (239 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	11.1	1	215	20	14:57
June	16.5	6.4	239	21	15:45
July	18.4	8.2	184	20	15:26
August	18.3	8.1	227	18	14:12
September	13.7	4.3	156	16	12:36

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Locarno, Milan is 18 days earlier and Bellinzona 20 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Bellinzona	17 km	19 June – 21 July	20 days later
Lugano	22 km	29 May – 10 August	1 day earlier
Como	46 km	29 May – 29 July	1 day earlier
Novara	81 km	23 May – 28 July	7 days earlier
Milan	85 km	12 May – 5 August	18 days earlier
Bergamo	85 km	31 May – 24 July	1 day later

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Locarno

Buy plants ready to set out from 30 May to 9 July (from 9 May to 9 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 28 March to 28 May. Within 15 km of Locarno OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop and 4 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Brico SA — garden centre
Via Arbigo 1, 6616 Losone · Mon–Fri 07:30–18:30; Sat 07:30–18:00 · 3 km · bricofaidate.ch
Schober Giardini — garden centre
Via Ferrera 103, 6612 Ascona · 2 km · schober-giardini.ch
Apicoltura Stocker — farm supply
Via Livurcio 45, 6622 Ronco sopra Ascona · 5 km
Emporio La Stala — farm shop
Via Cantonale 2, 6805 Mezzovico · 24/7 · 13 km · lastala.ch

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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