Divisi
When to plant Pumpkin in Wassa East
Western, Ghana
Pumpkin and butternut are warm-season trailing vines of the squash family — Cucurbita moschata, the tough, heat- and disease-hardy squash bred for hot, humid Africa.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 12 Feb 2027 – 10 Sep 2027 opens in 19 weeks | 2 Mar 2026 – 17 Nov 2026 |
| Expected harvest | about 20.7 t/ha | about 33.2 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 13 May 2027 to 8 Jan 2028, depending on the planting date | |
| Ready to harvest | 90–120 days after planting | |
| Work it takes | 68–138 days per hectare, by hand | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 27 Feb 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Wassa East leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 10 Sep 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Wassa East
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 60% |
For pumpkin in Wassa East, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 60%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.
The 2026 season in Wassa East
| When the rains are expected | February 2026 to December 2026 |
|---|---|
| Rain in a typical year | About 1,402 mm |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — February, September and October look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early. |
| What that supports | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | One kind of ground throughout. |
last updated 30 September 2026
What pumpkin needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sandy loam or loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 6.0 and 7.0 |
| Rain it needs | About 600–1,600 mm across the season |
| Spacing | 180 cm between rows, 150 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | nitrogen and potassium |
What it takes to grow pumpkin in Wassa East
| Planting material | About 2,500 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 52 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 25 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 83 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 68–138 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a pumpkin crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Pumpkin with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Wassa East as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Pumpkin in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will pumpkin grow well in Wassa East?
Wassa East rates as favourable for pumpkin.
When should I plant pumpkin in Wassa East?
Typically 12 Feb 2027 to 10 Sep 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Wassa East, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
