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
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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)!
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
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