It may seem odd to think about pumpkins now, but they need a lot of time to grow. See how to plant, grow, and care for pumpkins so that they’ll reach their fullest potential come fall.
About Pumpkins
Did you know pumpkins have been grown in North America for almost 5,000 years? It’s a lot of fun to grow this American native. However, note that pumpkins do require a long growing season (generally from 75 to 100 frost-free days) so you need to plant them by late May in northern locations to early July in extremely southern states.
Pumpkins are easy to maintain if you have the space.
Of autumn’s wine, now drink your fill;
The frost’s on the pumpkin, and snow’s on the hill.
–The Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1993
Reader Comments
Leave a Comment
Pumkins
I planted several varieties of pumpkins. One of them was rouge vif d’etampes. Another was the Atlantic giant and the crinkle family. My rouge pumpkins are getting huge. Is that because I planted them with the other pumpkins? They are huge and still yellow. With green spots. Did I do something wrong?
Thank you,
Diane
Out of Season Pumpkins
I have a kind of weird question! Is it possible to grow pumpkins, anywhere in the US, out of season? Perhaps fully in a greenhouse? I am working on a project that would need Halloween style carving pumpkins in May and June. I have searched all over the internet and have found little to no information. I have been laughed at by pumpkin farms I've called. If anyone has any ideas or info on if this is even possible, I would LOVE to hear it! Thank you!
Growing pumpkins
It depends where you live. In warm-winter regions,you can sow pumpkin seeds in midwinter for harvest in early summer.
Hydroponic
Hi I'm growing a pumpkin plant completely indoors from seed to harvest.
It's hydroponic/Soilless my question the i haven't been able to find the answer to online is, do pumpkins require the light cycle to change BEFORE they will produce flowers.
I'm currently growing it under grow lights at 18 hours of "daylight" and 6 hours of darkness. The vine is growing at an incredible rate but do I have to change to "autumn/late summer" light cycle before I can get flowers?
Pumpkins and Photoperiod
Good question! I don’t believe squash (including pumpkins) rely on changes in photoperiod (day length) to trigger flowering. If started from seed in the spring, squash will flower before the June solstice, while daylight hours are still increasing. Flowering is affected more by temperature and light intensity. Perhaps one of those factors is causing your plant not to flower yet. Or, it could simply be that it’s not old enough or requires a different nutrient mix (less nitrogen). Here’s some more info about growing squash and pumpkins via Purdue University: Cucurbit Growth and Development
Growing Pumpkins~
Growing Pumpkins How well would Pumpkins (small) grow on a small stone wall with roots in ground or pots ? Would the stone wall have minerals which might harm the leaves? t.y.
Pumpkins on Walls
No, the stone wall should not have any adverse effect on the pumpkin’s growth!
Green pumpkins
I planted my pumpkins late and not all of them were ripe by the time the frost came. About a week or so after the first frost came and therefore after the vines were completely dead, I picked all the pumpkins left even though some of them were still mostly green. Are they ok to eat? Can I process them still green? Or how do I ripen them?
Also, in that situation should I have left them out on the long since dead vine to finish turning color or should I have picked them?
Thanks!
Green pumpkin
Here’s what the Pennsylvania State coop-extension advises: Unripe pumpkins can continue to ripen off the vine provided they have started to turn orange. If you are impatient and must have that pumpkin sitting on the porch now—or if the perfectly shaped pumpkin at the farmer’s market still has some green on it—go ahead and harvest! Also, if disease or pests are damaging the vines, or there is a threat of a hard freeze, it’s time to bring those pumpkins in. Pumpkins can survive a light frost that will damage vines, but a hard freeze (<28°F) will weaken the rind and give bacteria an entry which can shorten storage time significantly. The semi-ripened fruits should be cut off the vines and set to cure in a well-ventilated space with temperatures from 80°to 85°F and relative humidity between 80 and 85%. Semi-ripened fruits do not store well.
You can eat pumpkin that ripens off the vine but it may not have the most desirable taste. At least you have something for your efforts!
after the harvest
Now that I have harvested my pumpkins and brought them in to wait for Halloween. I'm wondering what to do with the remaining vines. Do I cut them at the ground, do I dig them up? I want to prepare the area for a next year and by the way it doesn't look very nice right now
After Harvest
If you’ve harvested all your pumpkins, the plants can be disposed of. Cut back the vines and pull up the main part of the plant, then toss it all on the compost pile if the plants seem relatively disease free. Generally, we recommend not growing the same crop in the same spot in back-to-back seasons (a technique called crop rotation), as this can increase the likelihood that the same pests and disease will accumulate in that space. However, if your plants seemed healthy throughout the season, you can start to prepare your soil now.
No fruit so far
I read most of the other comments, but didn't see anything about how long it takes a pumpkin to grow. These are the Jack 'O' Lantern variety. It's getting late in the season.
This is my first time growing pumpkins. I put lots of new soil to expand the growing area.The plants are huge and bigger than I expected, but that's ok. Thx
Jack O' Lantern
The Jack O’ Lantern variety averages 110 days to maturity in full sun with proper food and water. See more detail about this variety: https://www.burpee.com/vegetables/pumpkins/pumpkin-jack-o-lantern-prod00...
Pumpkins
Our pumpkins seem to grow well initially, but some time in their development turn to mush. This can happen while on the vine or after bringing home. What's the problem? Also, this year I've noticed what look like squash bugs on the most mature pumpkin, which is already bright orange. Best battle plan?
mushy pumpkins
The problem is water, either administered or from the sky. Too much of it, which promotes fungus. Put something under the pumpkins to keep them off the wet ground, something that does not “hold” water like a board or even plastic. Newspaper, for ex., would hold the moisture.
Here’s more about squash bugs: https://www.almanac.com/pest/squash-bugs
Thank you for the response to
Thank you for the response to my 7/19 comment however, the pumpkin vine has no flowers at all, neither male nor female. The vine looks healthy and is growing very well but no flowers. A very tiny female flower would appear, dries up and a shoot would appear from that portion on the main vine.
no flowers
It could be that your soil has too much nitrogen, which promotes leafy growth. Do a soil test.
We responded about female flowers because that is a common problem. We hope this response is your solution.
No flower on the vines
Hi, I live in zone 6b and started my pumpkin indoor. the were planted 2 weeks after setting them outside in late May. Now the vines are very green and healthy but no flowers 7/19. what should I do? is it too late since the weather start changing in September and we can get a frost as early as November.
No Pumpkin Vine Flowers
Hi Amanda,
Sometimes persistent hot and humid weather can delay the plant from producing female flowers, and therefore from producing fruit. Pumpkins need a lot of constant watering, so try increasing the amount you’re watering your plants. There’s still time to produce a few pumpkins! We hope this helps.
the latest I can plant pumpkins
my grow season in North Carolina is weird and long so trying to find the latest i can plant the seeds in 27576 zip code area
sowing pumpkin seeds
Normally, you can seed pumpkins through July 1 in North Carolina. See more detail here.
Pumpkins
Thank you for your information about growing pumpkins. Pumpkins are not a vegetable but rather a fruit.
last years pumpkins
Last year i grew pumpkins for the first time, going in knowing nothing and with a tiny little patch. It was SO much fun and turned out well which was a bit of a surprise lol
We had an abundance of flowers which i would snip and stuff ( my kids loved them ) i highly recommend doing this !
If i saw a new female flower i would take one of the male flowers and gently put the pollen inside the female . I did this to ensure pollination as i had been losing some of the starts . We have some bees and a lawn that grows dandelions and clover which i like to keep for them but sometimes it gets mowed down . I hand pollinated just in case but it wasn't always necessary.
Pumpkin flowers turn black
Hi my pumkin vein growing well but flowers grow very tiny n black why is it happening so no fruits no flowers onlt drk leaves n vein is growing
tiny black flowers
We’ve searched our resources and can not find a specific cause—so many thing afflict pumpkins! See above for pests and diseases and if you don’t find a satisfactory result, contact your local cooperative extension (click here or above https://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services); they know you area and general conditions better than we do.
Hope you fin an answer—and a solution.
Hail damage and frost
This is the first year I've successfully grown pumpkin. It had a rough start do to a freak hail storm destroying a large quantity of my garden. Surprisingly my pumpkin plants and watermelons gave me a surprise I'm back from the dead regrowth. They have survived and thrived despite the hail, extremely hot summer weather, dogs that won't stop peeing on them thru the fencing and wild rabbits eating all the baby pumpkins. I have 5 pumpkins that are the size of my fist and growing beautifully but now there's talk of an early frost in 10 days! What should I do to help my pumpkins to keep growing and not lose them all in just over a week. I would really like to succeed this time :-(
Protecting Pumpkins
You’ll want to keep a close eye on the forecast for nights when temperatures dip into the mid-30s. When it gets that low, you should protect your pumpkins with some sort of breathable material—like sheets or a blanket—so that they aren’t exposed directly to frost and ruined. If it gets much lower than freezing, there’s not much you can do, unfortunately.
Note that when the leaves die off, the pumpkins won’t continue to grow, so that will be your signal to harvest.
pumpkin leaves
My pumpkin patch is our first it has been going very well. We have seen some of our leaves are dying and they have white spots it seems as if the spots are growing throughout the vegetation. We have about 20 pumpkins all different stages of life and colors we are wondering when should we start taking them off of the vines? should we be clipping our leaves etc? We are lost due to this is our first time planting anything in a garden... Yet we are doing this for our daughters to know how vegetation starts from the soil...
Pumpkins
My pumpkin plant is growing a zucchini instead of a pumpkin. Is this possible? I took the seeds from last years pumpkins, dried them and put them in an envelope and kept them in my pantry until I planted them. One of the other pumpkin plants are growing what looks like long shaped pumpkins or some sort of squash. Any idea what is going on?
Hybrid Pumpkins
Ah, yes, the classic hybrid pumpkin mystery!
Believe it or not, pumpkins and zucchini (as well as a number of other squash) are actually the same species of plant, Cucurbita pepo. They are different varieties of C. pepo, but because they are the same species, they are able to hybridize and produce hybrid fruit. So, it seems that a bee that pollinated your pumpkins last year had previously pollinated a zucchini plant (or another type of squash), which has resulted in a funky, hybrid fruit. The funny thing is that your pumpkins last year will have looked completely normal—but the seeds inside them were hybrids.
On the bright side, the hybrid squash are safe to eat (though we can’t say how tasty they’ll be)!
Pages