Pumpkins
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Pumpkins
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow pumpkins in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- How many pumpkins to plant
- Growing conditions for pumpkins
- When to plant pumpkins
- How to plant pumpkins
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning pumpkins
- Companion plantings for pumpkins
- How to harvest, store, and use pumpkins
Growing Pumpkins
Pumpkins are warm-season, vining vegetables. Plants grow vines, 5–20 ft. (1.5–6 m) long, bearing large, gold, flute-shaped, male and female, edible flowers that set orange or white, round or oval, squashlike fruit with a thick, smooth rind scored with vertical grooves.
Pumpkins range in size from tiny to huge, depending on cultivar. Grow them for their orange or white flesh, which can be baked or steamed, for seed to roast for eating, or as decorative displays in seasonal decor.
Giant pumpkins, Cucurbita maxima, some growing to 1,500 lbs. (600 kg) or heavier, are actually a separate species from traditional edible pumpkins, Curcurbita pepo.
Pumpkin Plant and Care Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 1–2 plants of each cultivar per household member.
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 8–10 days.
Average Climates: Sow seeds or transplant seedlings in full sun in late spring when soil warms to 65–90°F (18–32°F).
Hot or Arid Climates: in summer after heat has broken and 4 months of mild weather remain.
Sow 5–6 seeds, 1 in. (25 mm) deep, 3–4 in. (75–100 mm) apart, thinning to 2–3 plants per mound, raised 6–10 in. (15–25 cm) high and 2 ft. (60 cm) wide, 6–8 ft. (1.8–2.4 m) apart, installing sturdy tripod supports at time of planting [see: Installing Supports].
Best Conditions for Growth
50–90°F (10–32°C). Best in warm, dry climates.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich. 6.0–7.5 pH. Prepare soil at least 2 ft. (60 cm) deep.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist; avoid wetting foliage. Fertilize monthly with 5–10–10 formula until flowers form. For largest pumpkins, after 2–3 reach 2–3 in. (50–75 mm) wide, remove remaining female flowers with immature fruit beneath their blossoms and leave male, pollen-bearing flowers. Protect fruit from direct contact with soil. Aphid, cucumber beetle, vine borer, squash bug and fungal disease susceptible.
Pairing Recommendations
Corn, squash, sunflowers.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
90–120 days. Cut pumpkins when full colored and desired size, rinds resist a fingernail’s penetration, and the vines have withered; use sharp hand shears and leave 4 in. (10 cm) of stem on the fruit. Best flavor after first frost. Cure in garden after cutting for use as holiday decoration.
How to Store and Preserve
For best fresh storage, cure in garden in direct sun at 75–80°F (24–27°C) for 2 weeks after harvest. Stored in a cool, dry spot for 3 months; pureed and frozen, 6 months; cooked and canned, 1 year. Personalize children’s pumpkins by scoring their soft, green rind before they reach full size; the scratches will harden into a white callus as they mature.