Quick Reference
When to Start |
Direct seed in May when forecast shows no danger of temps dropping below 45 degrees.
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Crop Rotation |
Avoid following cucumbers or any members of the squash family
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How To Plant |
Plant seeds 1" deep in mounds, 4 seeds to a mound
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Spacing and Support |
Start mounds 3' apart on a trellis, or 6' apart if you plan to let them spread out on the ground
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When to Harvest |
When the stem turns brown and woody
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Storage |
Cooked and canned for pumpkin pie
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Many of us have great memories of going to the pumpkin patch as a kid to pick out a few good future jack-o-lanterns. Now imagine watching them grow from from seed and picking them right from your own garden. You do need a decent amount of space so it may not be an option for those of us with a small plot, but if you do have the room they are very low-maintenance throughout the summer and growing their own pumpkins is something your kids will always remember. We have grown them for years now and it does feel great seeing them on sale everywhere in the fall knowing you're getting yours from the backyard.
When To Start |
Direct seed in the garden well after fear of frost has passed. Pumpkins need serious heat so you want to start these on the later side. Seeds won't germinate until the soil is at least 70 degrees, and optimal growing temperature is 65-75 degrees.
Some people will plant pumpkins indoors early from seed and you can buy plants at greenhouse, but don't bother. Whatever head start you gave them will be offset by the transplant shock you plant gets when you rip it's roots out of the original pot and plant in foreign soil. When you start from seed the plant gets to grow undisturbed from day 1. The other reason to start late and start from seed is because you most likely are looking to have orange pumpkins in October. If you start too early you'll have fully ripened pumpkins in August and they will be a rotten pile of mush by the time you're ready to go trick-or-treating. |
Crop Rotation |
Avoid planting pumpkins in the same spot that cucumbers, zucchini, or any member of the squash family grew in the previous year.
Click here to read about crop rotation and why it is so important It's important to not only avoid planting the same crop in the same spot 2 years in a row, but you also have to avoid plants in the same family as they typically draw on the same nutrients and have issues with the same pests. Click here to learn more about plant families and find a chart showing which ones are related. |
How to Plant |
Direct sow seeds right into the garden well after the final frost of the spring has passed. Rake the dirt into mounds to maximize the amount of dirt where the seeds will be planted. Push down the top of the mound forming a shallow bowl. almost like a little volcano. This will ensure some rainwater will collect and drop down to the seeds vs. just rolling down the side of the mound.
Seeds should be planted fairly deep, about 1" below the surface. Plant 4-5 seeds per mound. After the seeds germinate and seedlings are well established, thin each mound to leave the 2-3 strongest plants. |
Spacing and Support |
On a Trellis: Mounds can be placed 3' apart or even closer if the plan is to direct the vines upward. For the last few years we have grown pumpkins on a heavy duty trellis and have done pretty well. Pumpkins vines actually look exactly like cucumbers and grow the same way too. The problem becomes how do you support a 30 lb. pumpkin hanging from a vine above your head? Some people use a method where they put the young pumpkins in pantyhose and tie that to the support. The material is strong enough to support the pumpkin and will stretch as it grows. We have used hanging pots where we hang the hook on the trellis and that supports the weight as it hangs. In 2018 we constructed a new addition to the garden called the "squash tunnel" with the goal of directing the vines upward and growing the pumpkins on the roof. We definitely didn't reinforce the top as much as we should have but it did hold up and was really cool to look at. It had it's pros and cons but you're likely not going to be doing anything that crazy. Check out the quick video below for the view from underneath.
On the ground: Pumpkin vines will take on a life of their own so we recommend giving them 6' of space between mounds to really stretch out. We're actually going back to letting the pumpkins spread out on the ground this year. It's partly for rotation considerations, but really this is the way pumpkins were meant to grow. You'll notice as the plants mature they begin to sprout roots all the way up the vine. On a trellis those become useless, on the ground those will take hold, drawing nutrients in and anchoring the plant down. A common problem with pumpkins and other squash are vine borers. One of our biggest garden nemesis', the squash vine borer burrows into the vine right at the base where it meets the soil and lays eggs inside. Ultimately this kills the plant as it rots in that section, cutting the vine off from it's roots. When you let the plant spread and root itself along the way, this issue becomes less serious. It will still ultimately kill the plant but the smaller roots will keep it going much longer than it otherwise would have. |
Harvesting |
Pumpkins are ready once the green stem turns brown/gray and woody. This tells you the pumpkin is now cut off from receiving any nutrients from the plant and therefore will not get any bigger. It will turn orange long before this so watch for the stem, especially if you're trying to keep them fresh through late October.
You'll most likely need garden sheers or even hedge clippers to cut the stem off. And once you do, don't carry the pumpkin by the stem. Sometimes it rips right off and your pumpkin will rot quickly at that point. As long as it has no wounds and the stem is fully in tact it will last on your front steps for a month or more. |
What to do with way too many of them |
Chuck em? I have always wanted to build one of those awesome catapults and launch a pumpkin across a football field. If you don't have any friends with reliable medieval blueprints, I'm sure your friends and neighbors kids would love to come pick your "real" pumpkins for their Halloween decorations.
Can them. You might not believe it, but that stuff in the pumpkin pie can actually came from a pumpkin. You can make your own with homegrown organic pumpkins and really show up your mother on Thanksgiving. "Oh your pie was store bought, that's cute". Don't forget the seeds! We're definitely not canning any pumpkins over here - ours end up in the compost pile. But before they do, we remove all the seeds. Bake them in an oven or toaster oven on 350 with just a little bit of olive oil and salt. Once they look brown and crispy take them out and you have a protein packed alternative to popcorn. The kids love them and we do too. |