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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Pumpkin flowers.
My neighbour told me I had to take the flowers off the vine. As she comes from a farming stock I believed her before thinking it through. Now I only have 2 pumpkins. Was I right in my thinking she was lying?
Pumpkin flowers
Removing some flowers makes the remaining pumpkins bigger. Experiment!!!!
I am thinking of planting pumpkin in w corn...
I am thinking of planting pumpkin in with corn or planting watermelon with corn. Any suggestions?
Pumpkin and Corn
Happily, both squash and melon are considered planting companions for corn; they help each other thrive. For suggestions on how to grow squash and corn together, please see our “Three Sisters” article: https://www.almanac.com/content/three-sisters-corn-bean-and-squash
Growing Jack o lanterns Pumpkins in Costa Rica
I buy this beautiful and amazings seed of pumpkins so my childrens and I can celebrate halloween this year with a real pumpkin and grow them in our yard
but we are from Costa Rica
in our Country we just have two seasons HOT SUMMER and RAINY WINTER
I`m so worry because I write that the pumpkins to be ready for halloween most be plant on july but they need a hot weather and is gonna be raining in here any advice or recommendation will be good receive THANK YOU
Pumpkins in Costa Rica
We do not have any experience with growing pumpkins in Costa Rica so we can only offer a few ideas: Plant in a large container that can be protected from excess rain (move it, shield it). But rain usually brings clouds, which cancel sunlight, and your plant needs at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. See the response below: If temperatures are suitable—in the 70s—perhaps you can plant and harvest before the rains come.
Here is a link from college student who studied growing “tropical pumpkins” in Costa Rica; she may be a source of information: https://www.unh.edu/inquiryjournal/spring-2017/exploring-diversity-tropi...
And, you might contact local farmers in your area and see if they have any advice or experience. We hope this helps!
Pumpkin light cycle
Just wondering if pumpkins have a set life cycle or if bloom is effected by a time/light cycle. Having a friendly contest with friends and wondering if I can get a few month head start
pumpkin life cycle
TIming, sunlight, and where you plant pumpkins can make a difference. The air and soil need to be warm enough for the seeds to germinate. The vines needs at least six hours of sunlight. And the plants need space to spread out their vines. Choose air, not oven, dried seeds (oven drying can remove too much moisture). In most cases, pumpkins need between 80 and 130 days to become mature. Instead of direct sowing (setting seeds in-ground) you can start your seeds indoors (check you last frost date https://www.almanac.com/gardening/frostdates), but you will need to acclimate them to the outdoors (harden them off) before transplanting them. Hope this helps!
Pumpkin Bed Dimensions?
We have limited space in our yard and we are thinking about next year's crop and we want to do pumpkins. We have an area that gets sun all day, so that's where we want the bed. What would you recommend the size of the bed be if I sow just one hill of seeds (4-5) and then choose only three healthy vines to take off? I'm more concerned of how deep the bed should be, but an overall dimension (HxWxL) would be fantastic. We want the pumpkins to be Jack-o-latern Pumpkins if that matters when selecting or building a bed. We understand that the vine needs space to grow, but how big of a bed for the root system need in order for the vines to grow full and healthy? Thank you. -Shawn
Jack O Lanterns
I grew Jack o Lanterns this year. My mound I put in 2 seeds for each mound. I have 2 mounds and my backyard has a pretty small size. Without measuring my backyard, I did this based off of the seeds (2 for each mound). When the vines grew out, I have neighbors so I had to send the vines back into it's area. I had to make the area round so it won't crawl into the nieghbor yard...now I have 6 pumpkins. I didn't use a bed...
Jack O' Lantern pumpkins
One seed source says that the spread of ‘Jack O’ Lantern’ pumpkins is 6 feet. The hill can be about 8 to 10 inches high and 12 inches in diameter. If your raised bed does not allow plant access to the ground soil, then you should have it at least 24 inches deep; 36 inches is better. Otherwise, if the pumpkins can sink their roots into the ground, 12 inches or so high for the bed edges should be fine.
London, U.K.
Loving all the tips - we are growing pumpkins in hanging baskets, here in London. The first fruit have just appeared and we are pruning off other blossoms and buds to concentrate the plants energies into growing the pumpkins - the race is on to beat the weather and get them big and ripe before Hallowe'en!
Stink bugs
Last season the stink bugs attacked my pumpkins late in the growing season. Anything I can do this year to prevent a repeat concern? Thanks!
Pumpkins,cantalope,watermelons
I had a great crop of these for my first year. The Old Farmers Almanac was very helpful. I even bought a paperback edition for this year. I will use these techniques to continue my planting. I was surprised with the amount of space each plant needed. Although I was theilled at my city back lawn needed so little mowing. They were the talk of my block. Now neighbors are in on the program. Next year we plan to have a Fall Block Party with our crops. Be sure to have rows of flowers for your bees & butterflies. That was beautiful also.maybe I will plant in front area also to show case colors we can eat.
Pumpkin Success
We’re happy to hear that you had such a successful growing season! Keep up the good work!
Pumpkin
Hi! My pumpkins are orange already with much time left before Halloween. Did I plant them too early or are they still growing? I saw your comment about harvesting and placing them in basement. How long will they typically keep in this spot? Thanks so much.
Ripe Pumpkins?
Try the methods listed in the Harvest/Storage section, above, to determine whether your pumpkins are fully ripe. If they are, you can cut them off the vine and cure them in a sunny spot for several days. Here’s a video about Curing and Storing Pumpkins.
Pumpkin Shelf Life
With a nice consistent, cooler temperature, pumpkins can last many months inside your home. I literally have pumpkins last 6 to 8 months inside each year. Most of which sit out on our front steps until the temperatures begin to dip near freezing. If you are storing pumpkins inside, just make sure there isn't excessive moisture accumulating between the bottom of the pumpkin & the storage spot. Places like concrete floors in basements often need a buffer of material to allow airflow... Wooden pallets work great for this.
leaves gone
someone went into my garden and pruned the vines, few weeks later decided to remove leaves and more vines. I had lots of pumpkins started but were still a month away from oct. do my pumpkins have a chance or will they rot now?
dog ran through
Last year, after Halloween, when the carved pumpkins were starting to turn to mush, I put about 5 of them along the back of my house, chopped them up, and put dirt on top. Well, right now my backyard is almost gone because there are so many pumpkin plants...about 17 feet each way. Anyway, I have a very large dog, 124lb cane corso, who decided to chase a rabbit all over in the pumpkins. Now the vines are smashed,turning yellow, and look just horrid. Somehow the ends of all the vines are still producing more pumpkins and the ones already turning orange still look okay. Is there anything I should do or just leave itsince they're still producing? I want as many pumpkins as possible so I can donate them to the school for their Halloween party for the kids.
Pumpkins
Hi Andrea,
There’s not much to be done to fix the vines that were uprooted or smashed. Since pumpkins are still being produced and ripen, just leave them be!
pumpkins in row photograph permission
May I please use your photograph of the pumpkins in a row in a circular for a 4-H extension activity at Langston University.
Thank you for your consideration.
Pumpkin Photo
Yes, the photo at the top of this page is in the public domain and may be used however you like! Note that the other pumpkin photos on this page are from the National Garden Bureau, however.
Pruning
I am growing a giant pumpkin and it is about 2 feet wide now but the vine it is on goes about 5 feet past it... can I cut the vine past the pumpkin or will it hurt the pumpkin ? The vine is like 1-2 inches thick now.
Do not cut the vine!
I don't have much time to write, but whatever you do...do not cut the vine as you will have problems. The vines anchor down and draw nutrients from the soil.
Jack o lantern pumpkins
I planted these pumpkins the last week of June. I live in Mckeesport Pennsylvania & I have lots of flowers & vines but no pumpkins yet we have had a lot of rain &they are in full Sun fresh compost every week & there are a lot of bees this year is there any thing I can do this is my first year with pumpkins.My daughter wanted them she even bought the seeds
Pumpkin questions
I planted 3 different types of pumpkins, all in 3 different locations. The small pumpkin plant produced one softball size pumpkin which is turning a yellowish orange. It keeps making new buds, but they fruit is dying off. On my large pumpkin plants, I have a medium size pumpkin that is green and still growing but again, I only have one on that plant. My third is flowering like crazy but just budding now. It is August right now and I was wondering how long into the season that they may still produce new pumpkins. We have also had a ton of rain this year and its hard to keep them from getting too wet. I'm hoping to get at least one pumpkin per plant! The leaves all look very healthy and the flowers. Some stems are yellowing a bit. Any help will be appreciated!
three's the charm
See the Care notes above, Gia. Are you fertilizing? Have you trimmed the stems? Details above. Pumpkins need water; see above, but too much rain can be too much. And pumpkins like—need—hot temps. Some parts of the country have just not been how this summer! Read the advice above and see if you can bring your plants to fruition!
White pumpkins
Hi, I've grown regular pumpkins for many years . This year I planted white pumpkins too. I cannot find any info about what they look like while growing . Do they start out white . ..not green ? I also planted bird house squashes and I have something growing that is white and smooth skinned . I took a picture but don't know how to send . I have a skull mold I want to put on it before getting too big IF it's a pumpkin ! Thank you . Cathy from Iowa
Pumpkin care
I had a wonderful surprise this morning as I looked out into my backyard. Two beautiful yellow blooms. Knowing I had not planted anything there I walked out to discover a pumpkin vine growing. I had thrown out a rotting white pumpkin in the early spring and it has sprouted on its own. It's about 4 feet long and appears very healthy at this stage. It seems to have 5-6 blooms. I live in north Florida. The vine is growing in a natural setting. The soil is rich with pine and oak leaves. There is morning glory vine creeping very near that concerns me. What is the best way to protect and hopefully bring my pumpkins to maturity. The vine was obviously not planted in a usual way such as a mound etc. Hasn't had any fertilizer etc. thanks.
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