Growing Pumpkins

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Pumpkins

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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 mature 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.

Care

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 weeks, 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

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 thumb the pumpkin, 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!
Cucubits, 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.

Reader Comments

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Minimum soil temp of 70F,

Minimum soil temp of 70F, optimum 95F?
That's a joke right?

Here's a second reference

Here's a second reference guide on minimum soil temperatures for pumpkin seed germination: http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scene61ea.html

My grandson and I planted

My grandson and I planted pumpkin seeds from out last year's pumpkin.
It has grown really big with lots of flowers, but the flowers fall off and there is no evidence of fruit. What do I need to do to ensure he won't be disappointed by no pumpkins.

You may need to read up on

You may need to read up on pollinating them by hand especially if you don't have a lot of bees around. Also make sure you're not over or under watering!

I have been trying to grow

I have been trying to grow pumpkins for several years and only ever get male flowers. Lots and lots of male flowers. How do I get female flowers?

Almost all squash varieties

Almost all squash varieties have male flowers bloom before female, so it may be a matter of time. Try adding a high-phosphorus ferilizer to increase bloom production. Some pros say that is plants are too close the competition between plants can reduce the number of female flowers; sound like you? (Powdery mildew can be a sign of overcrowding and poor circulation.) Hope this helps!

1st year pumpkin planter. To

1st year pumpkin planter. To be safe, I planted four seeds in each hole in my pumpkin patch. Just my luck all four sprouted and are growing fine. My question is: If I don't thin out the plants, will they still produce pumpkins? I have 10 planting spots and would hate to kill 30 young plants.
Thanks,
Bob

Hi, Bob, It depends on what

Hi, Bob, It depends on what your plants' growth habit it.
If the plants are vining type, thin to the best 2 or 3 plants.
If the plant is semi-bush varieties, thin to 2 plants per hill.
If the plant is a bush variety, thin to a single plant.
If the plant is a miniature variety, thin to the single best plant.
To thin, snip or cut off the stem at ground level, with scissors or a blade or the like.
You can certainly try to transplant a few of the seedlings, instead of thinning them. In so doing, disturb the remaining plant/s as little as possible and give it a little TLC when you've finished.

I Need to know if it is

I Need to know if it is normal for pumpkins to start out colored like a Water-mellon. This is my first garden ever

Most pumpkins are green when

Most pumpkins are green when they start developing and growing. They turn orange when they are fully grown.

We are renting a house in

We are renting a house in Japan right now and there isn't a lot of room for growing pumpkins. I chose a smaller pumpkin and i plan to try and grow them up a trellis. I am waiting till after the rainy seasons ends to start growing ( mid july). Is there anything i can do to ensure the best possibly outcome. Im not looking for A lot of pumpkins just enough so my daughter can cut one off like we did before we moved here.

hi every one grow Pumpkin i

hi every one grow Pumpkin i look on post every day some nice info

i start grow last year 405lb
that on path now i strat growing in Poytunnel looks pumpkin very happy keep fingers cross hi grow nice

seb

My daughter brought home a

My daughter brought home a pumpkin seed she planted in a planting pot (the kind that can be planted directly into the soil). It obviously hasn't sprouted yet as she just planted it. I live in Virginia where its pretty hot already. Do I need to start the seed indoors and then plant it in the soil once its a bit bigger, or can I just plant it directly into the soil now (Mid June) since we won't be worried about frost?

For Virginia, now is a

For Virginia, now is a perfect time to plant pumpkin seeds outdoors. Happy gardening!

May I know why did my pumpkin

May I know why did my pumpkin plant have white , dark green and translucent spot on leaves? How can I solve this problem?

It's hard to know without

It's hard to know without seeing the damage, and knowing what the size of the spots are. Whitish spots can mean anything from powdery mildew to damage from an insect that likes to suck the sap from the leaves, causing stippling (small spots over the surface of the leaves). Translucents spots might be heat damage or sunscald. Dark green mottled areas might suggest a virus. Bacterial leaf spot might also be a possibility.

For more information about pumpkin pests and diseases, check these sites; you might look through the photos of damage to see if any match what you see on your pumpkins. Good luck!

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG...

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath...

bacterial leaf spot:

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath...

How do I pinch off the ends

How do I pinch off the ends exactly? I have read about it but am still confused as to how to do it

You can pinch the stem

You can pinch the stem between your thumb and index finger (if the stem is not thick) until it breaks off, or you can use pruning shears (recommended for thicker vines). Select an area along the stem that is just above a leaf node, which is where the leaves (and leaf stems) form on the vine. So, once you make your cut, you should have a leaf node remaining at the end of the vine.

This video shows using shears:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

This image shows the main, secondary, and tertiary branches on a pumpkin vine:

http://i25.tinypic.com/2mz0gzq...

Hi,I live in Ky and my

Hi,I live in Ky and my pumpkins are already Blooming flowers and it only June is this normal or is it to soon.Im a little worried...

The male flowers come first

The male flowers come first and will fall off. About 10 or so days later, the female flowers will show up. Then, the bees will pollinate.

Are the male Pumpkin flowers

Are the male Pumpkin flowers just as edible as the female flowers, this is my first time planting pumpkins?

Hi James, Yes. In fact, we

Hi James, Yes. In fact, we only pick the male flowers. We leave the female flowers (which have a tiny pumpkin at the base) on the plant so it turns into a pumpkin. The male flowers should be picked in the morning when they are in full bloom. Wash and prepare as you would a salad!

One of my large pumpkin

One of my large pumpkin plants vines broke due to high winds. It isn't broken all of the way through. I had the vine tied down with landscaping clips and have since reinforced it with more. Should I give up on the plant, or is there a chance that it will continue to grow? So upset right now because this plant was absolutely thriving and I was hoping to produce a prize winner from it. It was the largest plant by far in my garden this year. Any advice? Thanks

There is a chance that the

There is a chance that the vine will recover, as long as the break doesn't block all of the vessels in the plant that allow transport of water and plant nutrients, and as long diseases and pests don't set in.

If the vine runs along the ground, as soon as you can, dig a depression underneath the broken area, wide enough to cover the break, and as far along the stem until just after the next leaf node (where the leaves emerge from the stem). Gently place the broken vine into the depression, making sure the broken stem fits as closely as possible to the original alignment. Cover the stem with soil--make sure the entire break is covered as well as one leaf node where leaves are emerging. Do not press the soil down. Water the area periodically. Roots may eventually emerge at the leaf node.

Good luck!

I am attempting to grow

I am attempting to grow pumpkins for the first time and may have placed my seeds to close together. On one hill I have 4 plants growing in close proximity. (all within a 5'' by 5'' square.

Should I attempt to carefully dig up the plants and space them further apart?

Thanks!

Hi Steve, You did the right

Hi Steve, You did the right thing. We plant multiple seeds because they do not always germinate. Once they do, select 2 of the healthiest and thin out the rest. I know it's hard but you have to "kill" the seedlings so that the others can grow. Pumpkins do not like to be moved or cultivated once planted so we would not advise digging them up.

I broke up 2 pumpkins in yard

I broke up 2 pumpkins in yard yard last year after thanksgiving..they came up and I have pumpkins.. I have 7 now that are turning orange.. My question is why are my new baby pumpkins dying??

Last year I put my store

Last year I put my store bought pumpkin in the "garden" in front of the house and let it rot over winter. This year I have small plants coming up. Since it is a very small space I'll probably have to remove a few. How do I go about doing that and not hurting the one I leave? They are very close together. Would one of those circular trellises work with Pumpkins. With the one I tried to grow last year (need to self cultivate as the bees weren't doing their job and did it too late in the year)I had so much vine. Just wondering if it would hurt the vine to go up the trellis and then back down.

Thanks!

Hi, Steven: You most

Hi, Steven: You most certainly can grow pumpkins from latticework or a trellis. The challenge always remains to support the weight of the developing pumpkin if it starts to grow up in the air. If you can somehow identify which ones you don't want, you can just cut them off or pinch off blooms. We would just let everything grow and have some fun with it, seeing which blooms seem to be healthiest and then pinching off others to focus that plant's energy on the best fruit. Thanks for asking!

Its a rather dull but needed

Its a rather dull but needed question. How many seeds can I expect from a Lady Godiva pumpkin?