When to plant pumpkins in Rapid City: 6 June – 17 June

In Rapid City, pumpkin: sow for seedlings from 4 April to 6 May; plant into a greenhouse from 16 May to 17 June; plant out into open ground from 6 June to 17 June.

Pumpkin in Rapid City: soil, season and weather

In Rapid City the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 7 May, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the pumpkin card — only around 6 June, 30 days later. 128 days separate planting out (6 June) from the first autumn frost (12 October); the card's 75 days to the first harvest leave 53 for picking, so a start 7 weeks late would still fit.

Last spring frost	7 May
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	6 June, 30 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	12 October, 128 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	75
First harvest, if planted in this window	20 August – 31 August
Days left for picking	53
Daylight	13:54 on 25 April, 15:21 on 6 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, September, has 5 rainy days

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

Pumpkin in Rapid City: care after planting

Planted on 6 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

27 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 Rapid City during the pumpkin season

About 227 mm of rain falls in the season; September is the driest month (31 mm) and June the wettest (69 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	26.5	13.8	69	10	15:28
July	29.7	16.8	49	9	15:11
August	28.5	15.9	39	7	14:03
September	24.9	12.3	31	5	12:34
October	15.9	4.5	39	6	11:04

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Pumpkin in nearby cities

Around Rapid City, Pierre is 12 days earlier and Cheyenne 2 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Pierre	233 km	25 May – 29 June	12 days earlier
Cheyenne	351 km	8 June – 18 June	2 days later
Bismarck	360 km	31 May – 20 June	6 days earlier
Fort Collins	420 km	7 June – 26 June	1 day later
Billings	457 km	2 June – 19 June	4 days earlier
Denver	503 km	28 May – 20 June	9 days earlier

Where to buy pumpkin plants and seeds near Rapid City

Buy plants ready to set out from 6 June to 17 June (from 16 May to 17 June for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 4 April to 6 May. Within 15 km of Rapid City OpenStreetMap lists 1 market (collected 29 October 2026).

Blackhills Farmers Market — market
East Omaha Street 245, 57701 Rapid City · Nov–Apr Sat 09:00–12:00; May–Oct Sat 08:00–13:00; Jul–Oct Wed 08:00–13:00 · 2 km · blackhillsfarmersmarket.org

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