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Growing Pumpkins
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Pumpkins
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Pumpkins
Whether you use them for carving or cooking, pumpkins do not disappoint. Here’s how to plant, grow, and harvest 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.
Wait until ALL danger of frost has passed and the soil is warmed, as the seedlings of this tender crop will be injured or rot. Find your local frost dates here.
That said, 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
Planting
Selecting a Site
- Pick a site with full sun (to light shade) and lots of space for sprawling vines. Vine varieties need 50 to 100 square feet per hill.
- However, if your garden space is limited, no worries! Plant pumpkins at the edge of the garden and direct vine growth across the lawn or sidewalk. The vines will only be bothersome for a few weeks. You can also grow pumpkins in big 5 to 10 gallon buckets! Or, try miniature varieties.
- Pumpkins are big, greedy feeders. They prefer very rich soil that is well-drained and not too soggy. Mix lots of compost and aged manure into the planting site before you sow seeds or transplant. Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.
Planting by Seed
- Pumpkins do best when the seeds are planted directly in the ground.
- If your growing season is very short, seed indoors in peat pots about 2 to 4 weeks before last spring frost. Be sure to harden off before transplanting.
- Wait until the plant soil is 70ºF or more before sowing seeds. Optimum soil temperature is 95ºF. Pumpkins are very sensitive to the cold.
- Plant seeds in rows or “pumpkin hills,” which are the size of small pitcher mounds. With hills, the soil will warm more quickly and the seeds will germinate faster. This also helps with drainage and pest control.
- Prepare the hills in advance with an abundance of old manure dug deep into the ground (12 to 15 inches). If you don’t have manure, loosen the soil and mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost
- Plant the seeds 1 inch deep into the hills (4 to 5 seeds per hill). Space hills 4 to 8 feet apart.
- Your plants should germinate in less than a week with the right soil temperature (70 degrees F) and emerge in 5 to 10 days.
- When the plants are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to 2 to 3 plants per hill by snipping off unwanted plants without disturbing the roots of the remaining ones.
- In rows, sow seeds 6 to 12 inches apart in rows 6 to 10 feet apart. Snip off plants to thin to one plant every 18 to 36 inches.
Check out this video to learn how to plant pumpkins.
Care
How to Grow Pumpkins
- Use row covers to protect plants early in the season and to prevent insect problems. However, remember to remove covers before flowering to allow pollination by insects!
- Pumpkins are very thirsty plants and need lots of water. Water one inch per week. Water deeply, especially during fruit set.
- When watering: Try to keep foliage and fruit dry unless it’s a sunny day. Dampness will make rot and other diseases more likely.
- Add mulch around your pumpkins to keep in moisture, suppress weeds, and discourage pests.
- Remember that pumpkins are tender from planting to harvest. Control weeds with mulch. Do not overcultivate, or their very shallow roots may be damaged.
- Most small vine varieties can be trained up a trellis.
- Larger varieties can be trained upward on a trellis, too—though it is an engineering challenge to support the fruit—usually with netting or old stockings.
- If your first flowers aren’t forming fruits, that’s normal. Both male and female blossoms need to open. Be patient.
- Bees are essential for pollination, so be mindful when using insecticides to kill pests. If you must use, apply only in the late afternoon or early evening, when blossoms are closed for the day. To attract more bees, try placing a bee house in your garden.
- Pumpkin vines, though obstinate, are very delicate. Take care not to damage vines, which reduces the quality of fruit.
Pump Up Your Pumpkins!
- Pumpkins are HEAVY feeders. Regular treatments of manure or compost mixed with water will sustain good growth.
- Fertilize on a regular basis. Use a high nitrogen formula in early plant growth. Fertilize when plants are about one foot tall, just before vines begin to run. Switch over to a fertilizer high in phosphorous just before the blooming period.
- Pinch off the fuzzy ends of each vine after a few pumpkins have formed. This will stop vine growth so that the plant’s energies are focused on the fruit.
- Pruning the vines may help with space, as well as allow the plant’s energy to be concentrated on the remaining vines and fruit.
- Gardeners who are looking for a “prize for size” pumpkin might select the two or three prime candidates and remove all other fruit and vines.
- As the fruit develops, they should be turned (with great care not to hurt the vine or stem) to encourage an even shape.
- Place a thin board or heavy cardboard under ripening melons and pumpkins to avoid decay and insect damage.
Pests/Diseases
- Squash bugs and cucumber beetles are common, especially later in summer. Contact your local Cooperative Extension for potential controls.
- Aphids
- Squash Vine Borer
- Powdery Mildew
- Anthracnose
- Poor light, too much fertilizer, poor weather at bloom time, and reduced pollinating insect activity can negatively impact fruit set.
Harvest/Storage
How to Harvest Pumpkins
- Your best bet is to harvest pumpkins when they are mature. They will keep best this way. Do not pick pumpkins off the vine because they have reached your desired size. If you want small pumpkins, buy a small variety.
- A pumpkin is ripening when its skin turns a deep, solid color (orange for most varieties).
- When you thump the pumpkin with a finger, the rind will feel hard and it will sound hollow. Press your nail into the pumpkin’s skin; if it resists puncture, it is ripe.
- Harvest pumpkins and winter squashes on a dry day after the plants have died back and the skins are hard.
- To slow decay, leave an inch or two of stem on pumpkins and winter squash when harvesting them.
- To harvest the pumpkin, cut the fruit off the vine carefully with a sharp knife or pruners; do not tear. Be sure not to cut too close to the pumpkin; a liberal amount of stem (3 to 4 inches) will increase the pumpkin’s keeping time.
- Handle pumpkins very gently or they may bruise.
- Pumpkins should be cured in the sun for about a week to toughen the skin and then stored in a cool, dry bedroom, cellar, or root cellar—anywhere around 55ºF.
- If you get a lot of vines and flowers, but no pumpkins, you need more bees in your garden to pollinate the flowers. Grow some colorful flowers next to your pumpkin patch this year and you may get more bees and butterflies!
- The yellowish pumpkins will soon come handy to give the cows. They help out the fall feed, and if there is anything better for cows in milk we should like to know it.
- If you’re saving seeds, they should last for 6 years.
- Check out this video for tips on curing and storing pumpkins.
Recommended Varieties
- Miniature pumpkins: ‘Jack Be Little’ miniature pumpkin variety, perfect for a holiday table. Vine variety. Days to maturity: 90 to 100 days. ‘We-B-Little’ is an All-America Selection winner, and ‘Munchkin’ is another great miniature pumpkin. Miniature pumpkins are very productive and easy to grow, sometimes producing up to a dozen fruits per plant.
Photo Credits: National Garden Bureau. On the left, ‘Munchkin’ miniature pumpkins. On the right, ‘Wee-B-Little’ miniature pumpkins.
- Pumpkins for carving: ‘Autumn Gold’ great for carving, decorating. All-America Selection winner. Vine variety. Excellent for Jack-o-Lanterns. Days to maturity are generally 100 to 120 days.
- Giant pumpkins: ‘Dill’s Atlantic Giant’ jumbo variety can grow to 200 pounds. Great for those who want to grow a giant pumpkin. Vine will spread to 25 feet, so space is a must. Days to maturity are 130 to 160 days, so plant early! Thin to the best one or two plants. Feed heavily but keep cultivation shallow. Remove first 2 or 3 female flowers after the plants start to bloom so that the plants grow larger with more leaf surface before setting fruit. Allow a single fruit to develop and pick off all female flowers that develop after this fruit has set on the plant. Take care that the vine doesn’t root down near the joints to avoid breakage.
- Perfect pumpkins for pies: ‘Sugar Treat’ semi-bush hybrid. Ideal for cooking and baking. Days to maturity are generally 100 to 120 days. ‘Hijinks’ and ‘Baby Bear’ are both All-America Selection winners and have sweet flesh for pumpkin pie. ‘Cinderella’s Carriage’ is also perfect for pies or soups. ‘Peanut Pumpkin’ also produces very sweet flesh and can be great in pumpkin pie or pumpkin puree.
Photo Credits: National Garden Bureau. On the left, ‘Cinderella’s Carriage’ pumpkins. On the right, ‘Peanut Pumpkin’.
- Colorful pumpkins: ‘Jarrahdale’ has blue-green skin and makes for great decorations. ‘Pepitas Pumpkin’ is orange and green, and ‘Super Moon’ is a large white pumpkin.
Photo Credits: National Garden Bureau. On the left, a ‘Jarrahdale’ pumpkin. On the right, a ‘Pepitas Pumpkin’.
Wit & Wisdom
Pumpkin Trivia
- Pumpkins were once thought to cure snakebites.
- A slice of pumpkin pie before bedtime may help you to sleep.
- Pumpkins have been grown in North America for almost 5,000 years.
- Pumpkins are a nutritional powerhouse! Learn more about winter squash’s health benefits!
- Cucurbits, such as pumpkins, are subject to an ongoing myth—that planting different family members or varieties will result in strange fruit. Actually, it is the seeds resulting from cross-pollination that are corrupted, so this is a factor only if you are planning to save seeds for next year’s planting.
Carving Pumpkins
- Pumpkins have become a traditional Halloween decoration and treat in the United States.
- Inscribe messages on growing pumpkins with a large nail. The letters will scar over while the pumpkins grow and will still be visible at harvesttime.
- See 5 tips for picking the perfect pumpkin for carving!
- Learn about the history of carving pumpkins.
Recipes
Cooking Notes
- See how to clean a pumpkin for cooking.
- Don’t forget about the seeds! Roast them with salt or cinnamon for a tasty treat.
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Reader Comments
Leave a Comment
Pumkin Farming
Am growing them for season two and its exiting...based in Kenya East Africa, In the highlands of Nyeri County. though small scale, wants to scale up...more info, inbox me.
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)!
Should I water the vines as well as the roots?
I'm growing pumpkins for the first time. They are doing very well, with long vines. I see that each leaf forms a funnel that seems to be designed to draw rain water down to the vine. So, should I water the leaves, and let the water go where it would if rain fell? Or do I just need to water where the roots of the plant go into the earth?
Pumpkin growing
I have pumpkins growing and throughout its growing, there have been many blooms. The plants are large and the vines have plenty of room to spread out. However, I have not yet gotten any actual pumpkins from those blooms. Is that typical? When do the actual pumpkins begin to appear? Thank you.
Why pumpkins do not fruit
Usually, poor fruit set for pumpkins is due to high temperatures during flowering in July. Day temperatures in the 90s or night temperatures in the high 70s will cause flower and small fruit abortion. Is it too hot? Lack of water can also cause stress. Are you watering enough?
Poor pollination can be an issue. A pumpkin plant has both male and female flowers and the first female flower opens one week after the first male opens. The flowers only last a few hours, blooming at dawn and closing later in the morning but well before noon. Pollinators need to be active during this short period. Do you have native pollinators such as bumblebees and squash bees? If not, you could hand pollinate your squash. (We have videos on our site to help).
Finally, too much nitrogen in your fertilizer can also delay pumpkin fruit set. Pumpkins do not normally need more than 80 lbs/acre N to grow a crop. Fertilizing above 100 lbs/acre N may cause the pumpkins to put on excessive vine growth and delay fruiting.
Growing pumpkins
About 15 years ago, we planted a pumpkin in the back yard behind the garage. We forgot to water it, so it died. This spring we had a lot of rain, and when I happened to walk behind the garage, I saw this plant growing. I actually didn't know if it was a pumpkin or zucchini plant. Anyway, we now have one pumpkin at the end of a five or six foot vine, with another vine branching off from the main one, with another female blossom at the end.
For the past few weeks I've noticed that the leaves at the beginning of the main vine are turning dry and shriveling up. The rest of the vine looks green and healthy. We water it pretty good every morning. The temperature here has been in the upper 90s with some days over 100. Is it normal for the leaves to do this? Do I need to water it more?
I have seen that pumpkins should be watered one inch per week, but I don't understand what that actually means. At the beginning, we were giving it 2 gallons per day, by hand, in a watering can. Now I have a long hose with a bubbler attached, and I would say it's getting more than 2 gallons a day.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you :)
wilted leaves
It is likely that the soil does not contain all of the nutrients that the plant needs. Nitrogen is important, and watering tends to wash the nitrogen out of the soil, or dilute it. Do a soil test and see if you can assess its needs that way.
Sorry to say, too, we can not rule out disease, such as a wilt. Or bugs.
Here’s an idea: nurse this plant for as long as you can, then harvest the pumpkins, remove and save the seeds, then plant them next season in a properly prepared bed! (See above.)
Typos in your article
Hi. Thanks for the wonderful article, but I noticed a few typos that may or may nor mislead readers, but can result in distraction or delay regardless:
1) Under SELECTING A SITE, 3rd bullet point, it says "...aged mature..." but should say "...aged manure...."
2) Under CARE, 4th bullet point, it says "...suppress weeks..." but should say "...suppress weeds...."
3) Under HARVEST/STORAGE, 3rd bullet point, it says "...thumb the pumpkin..." but I think that you mean "...thump the pumpkin...."
4) Under PUMPKIN TRIVIA, the 5th bullet point starts "...Cucubits..." but should say "...Cucurbits...."
Pumpkins
Thank you for calling these typos to our attention! They’ve now been fixed.
pumpkin recipes
I make a most delicious soup from pumpkins, which is really easy and just involves roasting the pumpkin, removing skin and seed and putting into freezer bags. Just add about 400g to 3 litres chicken stock plus your normal seasonings, onion and handful chopped cabbage. I then add about half a smoked salami sausage or smoked ribs.This makes a thick hearty soup, with great smokey flavour. The meat is optional. I also make pumpkin strudel by mixing the flesh of roasted pumpkin with sugar, cinnamon and ginger to taste, brushing sheets of filo pastry with oil, add teaspoons of the pumpkin mix at intervals (no too much you need a fairly think film of the mix or it will be too much) roll up and lightly brush with olive oil. Bake in hot oven and serve with sour cream. These are tried and tested much loved recipes here in the Balkans!
pumpkins
so i guess some pumpkin seeds from our halloween pumpkins last year have rooted and i have some gorgeous plants popping up..we transplanted a few of the plants to our garden yesterday and when i checked on them today theyre drooping...anything i can do to bring them back
made a mistake
you shouldn't have moved them, you have likely damaged the roots, but it's not the end of the world. You should mulch em real deep and give them something in their water to help the roots grow- in my garden we would use willow tea, which is made by gathering as many willow leaves and branches as you can and putting them all into a big 5 gallon pail, up to halfway full. Then you fill it the rest of the way with water and let it soak for 3/4 days, stirring it around every day. The willow will first steep into the water and then rot down. You should add about a cup of this to your watering can of at least a gallon every time you water every 3 plants. You can, after the first two weeks, add in vegetable scraps and stuff you would compost, and especially bananas. (They have phosphorous which is really good for pumpkins.) It will all rot down and make a really beneficial compost tea for your pumpkins. It's a bit smelly but it's free and they love it, and the willow will give you fabulous roots. give the pumpkins this compost tea, diluted, every time or every other time you water. I give it every other time in spring and every time in hot summer. good luck!
Surprise Pumpkins in a Bucket!
Unknown to me my child planted 3 pumpkin seeds in a large (22-25 in wide, foot 1/2 deepish) pot in our backyard and now they've got their first set of leaves. We got these seeds from last years pumpkin and I don't know what to do with them! Can they stay in the pot or should we try to move them to the actual ground? they've only got an inch or two in height.
you're ok!
you're okay with the pumpkins as they are. If you can, it would be a good idea to cut a bottle in half, press it into the soil right near the plants but not so close as to damage the roots (say 4 inches away? 6?) and then cover the ground, forming around the plants and bottle and not moving or bending them if you can help it, with tin foil. the tin foil reflects light up onto the leaves and helps to prevent rot, acts as mulch and keeps weeds down and moisture in, and the bottle lets you water through the foil. alternatively you could also shallowly plant beans in the same pot and support them with bamboo stakes shaped and tied at the top into a teepee. the beans give them nutrients through the roots and will shade the soil and keep moisture in.
Hi from Argentina
My english is bad, i will do My best.
in june i bought seed in Washington, for us it is the time for plant, i did yesterday.
Last year i plant and harvest "anco" it's small and sweet!!! Easy, and careless. I hope that my enterprise go ok.... best for all
Pumpkins
Best of luck with your pumpkins!
agriculture
always try your hardest and always don`t give up
Frost Plants
The frost killed all of my pumpkin leaves while I still 11 pumpkins in various levels of ripening on the vines. Will these pumpkins continue to ripen or have I lost this years crop? Is there anything I can do to save my pumpkins?
Pumpkin Season
What months are considered pumpkin season?
Pumpkin Season
Typically, pumpkin harvest season lasts from September to December.
After harvest
Are the decaying vines good to turn into the soil?
Pumpkin Vines
No, it’s better to remove them from your garden and put them in a compost pile, where they can break down more thoroughly. If they showed any signs of disease, you’ll want to remove them and throw them in the trash so as not to spread the disease to your compost pile.
no pumpkins
We planted our seeds in Mid June on small mounds with 4 - 5 seeds per mound. We started seeing growth in just a week or so. The first week of July we had several days of triple digit heat but did not seem to effect vine growth. We did water at least 1 in ea week. Thru the next few weeks the vines grew and some flowers appeared. The flowers never turned into pumpkins but the vines continued to grow. Any ideas why we didn't get any pumpkins?
No pimpkins
You have 2 kinds of flowers female/male, although that you need bees to do their job!!!, to take pollen form the female flower to the male flower, i lo e in Argentina, and beside bees I have hummingbird living near. Both pollinate the flowers. You can do it, keep it trying. I hope My poor English do te breake yogures eyes. Saludos
Green Pumpkins
I have harvested my pumpkins both orange and green. I have read that if the green ones are kept in a warm, dry, sunny area, they will turn green. How long does it take for them to turn green?
Green Pumpkins
On my previous question, I meant to say, how long will it take the green pumpkins to turn "orange"?
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