When to plant pumpkins in Raleigh: 18 April – 25 July

In Raleigh, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 14 February to 13 June; plant into a greenhouse from 28 March to 25 July; plant out into open ground from 18 April to 25 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Logans Garden Shop (garden centre, 2 km) and Family Home & Garden (garden centre, 9 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Pumpkin in Raleigh: soil, season and weather

In Raleigh the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 13 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 18 April, 36 days later.

Last spring frost	13 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	18 April, 36 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	19 November, 215 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	2 July – 8 October
Days left for picking	140
Daylight	11:37 on 7 March, 13:11 on 18 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, October, has 7 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Raleigh: care after planting

Planted on 18 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

9 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 Raleigh during the pumpkin season

About 921 mm of rain falls in the season; October is the driest month (77 mm) and September the wettest (156 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	22.4	10.9	97	9	13:05
May	26.1	15.8	124	12	14:03
June	30	19.7	111	13	14:34
July	32	22.3	136	16	14:22
August	30.2	21.2	137	15	13:32
September	27.6	18.4	156	12	12:26
October	22.4	12.8	77	7	11:19
November	16.6	6.7	83	7	10:18

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Raleigh, Charleston is 37 days earlier and Richmond 12 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Greensboro	109 km	28 April – 19 July	10 days later
Wilmington	186 km	2 April – 6 August	16 days earlier
Charlotte	208 km	13 April – 19 July	5 days earlier
Richmond	224 km	30 April – 22 July	12 days later
Columbia	294 km	28 March – 4 August	21 days earlier
Charleston	353 km	12 March – 25 August	37 days earlier

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Raleigh

Buy plants ready to set out from 18 April to 25 July (from 28 March to 25 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 14 February to 13 June. Within 15 km of Raleigh OpenStreetMap lists 8 garden centres, 2 farm-supply shops, 1 plant nursery, 4 markets and 6 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Taylor's Nursery, Inc. — plant nursery
7 km
Logans Garden Shop — garden centre
Farmers Market Drive 1208, 27603 Raleigh · Mon–Sat 09:00–18:00 · 2 km · logantrd.com
Family Home & Garden — garden centre
Corporate Center Drive 550, 27607 Raleigh · Mon–Sat 07:30–17:00 · 9 km · familyhomeandgarden.com
Fairview Garden Center — garden centre
Holly Springs Road 8224, 27606 Raleigh · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 13:00–17:00 · 13 km · fairviewgardencenter.com

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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