When to plant pumpkins in Missoula: 30 June – 23 July

In Missoula, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 28 April to 11 June; plant into a greenhouse from 9 June to 23 July; plant out into open ground from 30 June to 23 July.

Pumpkin in Missoula: soil, season and weather

In Missoula the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 18 May, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 30 June, 43 days later. 98 days separate planting out (30 June) from the first autumn frost (6 October); the card's 75 days to the first harvest leave 23 for picking, so a start 3 weeks late would still fit.

Last spring frost	18 May
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	30 June, 43 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	6 October, 98 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	13 September – 6 October
Days left for picking	23
Daylight	15:11 on 19 May, 15:50 on 30 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, July, has 4 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Missoula: care after planting

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

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

21 July — 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 Missoula during the pumpkin season

About 195 mm of rain falls in the season; July is the driest month (11 mm) and June the wettest (63 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	22.1	8.4	63	10	15:51
July	28.3	12.9	11	4	15:32
August	27.3	12.1	21	4	14:15
September	21.6	7.7	42	6	12:37
October	12.6	1.5	58	11	10:57

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Missoula, Boise is 54 days earlier and Helena 3 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Helena	155 km	3 July – 20 July	3 days later
Spokane	271 km	22 May – 20 June	39 days earlier
Boise	400 km	7 May – 2 July	54 days earlier
Idaho Falls	406 km	4 June – 19 June	26 days earlier
Billings	441 km	2 June – 19 June	28 days earlier
Calgary	465 km	18 June – 18 July	12 days earlier

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Missoula

Buy plants ready to set out from 30 June to 23 July (from 9 June to 23 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 28 April to 11 June. Within 15 km of Missoula OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 2 plant nurseries, 2 markets and 6 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026).

PJ's Feed Bin — farm supply
3 km
Orchard Homes Farmer's Market — market
1 km
Turner Farms — farm shop
3 km
Clark Fork Organics — farm shop
3 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