Pumpkin Planting & Growing | Learn How Pumpkins Grow
- 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.
- Bees are essential for pollination, so be mindful when using insecticides to kill bugs or fungicides to control fungus. 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. Or, grow colorful flowers near the patch.
- Pumpkins need 1 inch of water per week. Water deeply, in the morning and on very hot afternoons, especially during fruit set. Avoid watering foliage and fruit unless it’s a sunny day. Dampness invites rot and disease.
- Add mulch around your pumpkins to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and discourage pests.
- Weed gently; pumpkins have shallow roots that can be easily damaged. Also, take care not to damage the delicate vines; the quality of the fruit depends on them.
- Side-dress with aged manure or co most mixed with water.
- Small vine varieties can be trained to grow up a trellis. Larger varieties can be trained upward, too, to support the fruit, usually with netting or old stockings.
- Pumpkins are heavy feeders. Side-dress with aged manure or compost mixed with water. When plants are about 1 foot tall, just before vines begin to run, fertilize regularly with a high-nitrogen formula. Just before the blooming period, switch to a high-phosphorus formula fertilizer.
- If your first flowers aren’t forming fruits, that’s normal. Both male and female blossoms need to open. Be patient.
How to Grow a Bigger Pumpkin
- After a few pumpkins have formed, pinch off the fuzzy ends of each vine to stop vine growth and focus plant energy on the fruit.
- Pruning the vines may help with space and fruit formation. Pumpkins produce main vines (from the base/center of the plant), secondary vines from the main ones, and tertiary vines from the secondary vines. All may have flowers. Once fruit has started to develop, prune the main and secondary vines to 10 to 15 feet and remove the tertiary vines, if desired. Bury the cut tips in soil.
- Or, gardeners who are looking for a āprize for sizeā pumpkin might select the 2 or 3 prime candidates and remove all other fruit and vines.
- As the fruit develops, turn themāwith great care not to hurt the vine or stemāto encourage an even shape. Slip a thin board or stone or piece of plastic mesh under pumpkins to protect them from rotting on the soil.
- To grow a giant pumpkin, try the āDill’s Atlantic Giantā jumbo variety. Fruit can grow to 200 pounds on 25-foot vines. Plants need 130 to 160 days to mature, so start seedlings indoors, then thin to the best 1 or 2 to plants.
- Feed heavily and cultivate shallowly.
- Remove the first two or three female flowers to generate more leaf surface before a plant sets fruit.
- Allow one fruit to develop. Remove all other female flowers.
- Take care that the vine does not root down near the joints to avoid breakage.
Every pumpkin has a best purpose. When it comes to choosing a pumpkin, think about what you want to do with it. All pumpkins are technically edible, but ornamentals are better for carving and other pumpkins are best for cooking.
Miniature Pumpkins
Miniature pumpkins are very productive and easy to grow, sometimes producing up to a dozen fruits per plant.
- āJack Be Littleā, a miniature variety, is dual purpose. Store-bought shiny (painted) ones make an ideal decoration for a holiday table. Remove the seeds from farm- or home-grown specimens and then bake them for a tiny treat. Vine variety. Days to maturity: 90 to 100 days.
- āWe-B-Little’ is an All-America Selection winner, and āMunchkinā is another great miniature pumpkin.
Pumpkins for carving
- āAutumn Goldā great for carving, decorating. All-America Selection winner. Vine variety. Excellent for Jack-o-Lanterns. Days to maturity are generally 100 to 120 days.
- The larger āMagic Lanternā and āMerlinā are great for carving and decorating.
Giant pumpkins
- āDillās Atlantic Giantā jumbo variety can grow to 200 pounds. Great for those who want to grow a giant pumpkin. Vines 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.
- āBig Maxā, āBig Moonā, āJack Oā Lanternā, and āFunny Faceā are some of the best giant pumpkins for carving.
Perfect pumpkins for pies
- āSugar Treatā is excellent for cooking and baking. Days to maturity are generally 100 to 120 days. āHijinks’ and āBaby Bear’ are both All-America Selection winners and have sweet flesh for pumpkin pie.
- āCinderella’s Carriageā is also perfect for pies or soups.
- āPeanut Pumpkinā also produces very sweet flesh and can be great in pumpkin pie or pumpkin puree.
Image: Arina P Habich/Shutterstock
Colorful decorative pumpkins
- āJarrahdale’ has blue-green skin and makes for great decorations.
- āPepitas Pumpkin’ is orange and green.
- āSuper Moon’ is a large white pumpkin.
- See how to clean a pumpkin for cooking.
- Donāt forget about the seeds! Roast them with salt or cinnamon for a tasty treat.
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I have a pumpkin thatās a year old! Kept it inside the house during the winter months and then put it outside this summer!!
Itās still in great shape, solid and heavy!! How can this be???
Color has changed somewhat going to a dark green!
Thanks for the great info about pumpkin growing! I have an issue with two pumpkin varieties Iām growing in different raised beds, Iām wondering if you might have any advice. Iāve been waiting for the female flowers to come up. I finally saw them budding up on my vines but after a few days, they turn yellow and pop off the vine. Am I not fertilizing enough maybe? Thanks again!
Hi, Wylie, Lots of things can cause lack of pollination. Some of the most common causes are lack of pollinators; weather, specifically extreme heat or cold temps. Varieties differ in their reaction to temp changes. Nitrogen levels in the soil can also affect fruit set. Excess nitrogen results in vigorous vine growth and delays flowering. You might do a soil test to assess its composition. We hope this helps!
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