How to Grow Pumpkins: Tips for a Thriving Patch
Learn how to grow pumpkins with these helpful gardening tips. Growing your own pumpkins is rewarding! Pumpkins have preferred growing conditions that help them thrive. As long as you provide pumpkins with the sunlight, soil, and water that they require, you will have a thriving patch.
Requirements for Growing Pumpkins
Pumpkins need proper temperatures, soils, space, sunlight, and water to thrive. If you’ve been wondering how to grow pumpkins in your home garden, keep reading!
Temperature Requirements
Pumpkins are a warm weather plant and they do not tolerate frost. Make sure you plant your seeds or transplant your seedlings in the spring after all danger of frost has passed. I usually don’t plant my pumpkins until early June.
If you have a shorter growing season, you may need to choose a variety that matures more quickly to get a harvest before the first frost in the fall. Sometimes pumpkins can tolerate a light frost with only minimal leave damage and still continue to grow, but if a heavy frost is coming, use row covers or blankets to protect your pumpkin plants. A long growing season is ideal for pumpkins.
Soil Requirements
Pumpkins are heavy feeders. They need adequate soil nutrients to grow their extensive pumpkin vines, and of course the pumpkins! Applying a thick layer of compost or aged manure before planting your pumpkin seeds or young plants will set your plants up for success. Well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter is best for growing pumpkins.
If your not sure if you soil is right for growing pumpkins, a soil test is a great way to learn more about your soil. Your local county extension agent can help you find a soil testing lab in your area, or you can have one mailed to you from Redmond Agriculture. Go here to order a soil test kit.
Space Requirements
Different pumpkin varieties have different space requirements. Check your seed packet for the spacing requirements for your particular variety.
Giant pumpkin varieties can need up to 1,000 square feet, regular varieties need 50-100 square feet, and even the smaller varieties need 15-40 square feet. Pumpkins need a lot of space for their sprawling vines to spread across the ground.
Don’t let these space requirements scare you away from going pumpkins if you have a small garden! If you don’t have much growing space, pumpkins can be planted between rows of tomatoes, green beans, or corn.
You can grow pumpkins on the edges of your garden and train the vines to grow where you want them. You can even prune pumpkin vines to keep the plant smaller, although this will affect your overall yield. Even smaller-space gardeners can grow pumpkins with a little extra planning.
Sunlight Requirements
Pumpkins need full sun to be most productive. Despite this recommendation, I have successfully grown pumpkins in and around other food crops like corn, green beans, and tomatoes. These neighboring plants do shade the pumpkins, but as long as there is sunlight getting to some of the pumpkin leaves, you will get an abundant harvest from your pumpkin patch.
Water Requirements
Pumpkins require an inch of water per week. This can come in the form of rain, or artificial watering from your hose or water can. It’s a good idea to keep the soil consistently moist, but not soggy.
A rule of thumb to know if your pumpkins need watered is to stick your finger down into the soil. If it feels dry, water your pumpkins. If it feels wet, wait to water.
How to Grow Pumpkins
Pumpkins are easy to grow if you set them up from the beginning with good growing conditions, and then plant your seeds or seedlings properly.
When to Plant Pumpkins
Wait to plant your pumpkin seeds until the soils have reached at least 65ºF or after all danger of frost has passed. This is typically in late May or early June in my area.
How to Plant Pumpkin Seeds
After you have prepared your soil with compost or aged manure, plant four to six seeds in mounds spaced 4 feet apart. After the seeds germinate and have two leaves thin your plants to two plants per mound.
How to Plant Pumpkin Seedlings
Plant pumpkin transplants 2-3 feet apart in a row. Space rows 4-6 feet apart. Try not to damage the seedling roots when transplanting as this will slow initial growth.
Companion Planting with Pumpkins
Pumpkin seedlings and seeds can also be planted strategically around your garden and existing plants. I like to plant pumpkins on the borders of my corn patch and let the vines crawl between the corn rows. Pumpkins can also be grown between rows of tomatoes, green beans, or peas. Growing two crops in the same space is a great way to maximize production and the large pumpkin leaves block sun and cut down on weeds.
Common Pumpkin Diseases and Pests
These common pests and diseases can be avoided by providing good airflow, planting resistance varieties, and encouraging beneficial insects to live in your garden. Cultivating good soil conditions and attracting beneficial insects can reduce fungal diseases and plant damage.
- Powdery Mildew: Thrives in hot, dry weather. White fungal patches on older leaves. Spreads to all plant parts and can cause premature ripening. Many pumpkin varieties are now resistant to powdery mildew.
- Aphids: Green or black insects that feed on the underside of the leaves. Leaves can become crinkled and curled.
- Squash Bugs: Adults drink the sap from the leaves and can damage leaves leaving them speckled and wilted.
- Cucumber Beetles: Adults have stripes or spots and feed on leaves and vines. This reduces plant vigor and may transmit bacterial diseases.
- Vine Borers: Vine boring insects eat the inside of the pumpkin vines which inhibits water and nutrient flow throughout the plant.
Pollinating Pumpkins
If you notice that the female flowers on your pumpkin plant are forming tiny pumpkins, but a week later those little pumpkins are shriveling up and falling off the plant, you may have a pollination issue. If your pumpkin flowers don’t get pollinated, the pumpkins won’t continue to grow.
You can manually pollinate the female flowers using a q-tip. Rub the q-tip inside the male flower (this is a flower with a skinny stem and no tiny pumpkin attached) and then rub the q-tip inside the female flower. Planting other flowering plants near your pumpkins will attract pollinators to that area of your garden and ensure your pumpkins get pollinated.
Mulching Pumpkins
Applying a thick layer of straw, grass clippings, or compost around your pumpkin plants will help hold in soil moisture and reduce weed competition. Pumpkins have shallow roots, so you want to minimize the weeding you do around the base of the plant as much as possible. Once your pumpkin plant is established and growing, those big leaves will block out any weed competition, but the small seedlings will benefit from some mulch in the beginning.
Popular Pumpkin Varieties
There are over 800 varieties of pumpkin in the world, but only a quarter of those can be eaten. Some are grown to be made into pumpkin pie, while others are grown for decorating. Every pumpkin has a best use, so when choosing which pumpkin variety to plant in your garden, think about what you want to do with it. There are orange pumpkins, white pumpkins, pink pumpkins, and even blue pumpkins!
Mini Pumpkins
Mini pumpkins use a smaller footprint, but are still extremely productive. Common varieties are “Jack Be Little” and “We-B-Little”. Check out the variety of mini pumpkin seeds that are available at Harris Seeds.
Giant Pumpkins
If you want to grow larger varieties to win the blue ribbon at the county fair, you’ll need to choose a giant variety. Common varieties are “Dill’s Atlantic Giant”, “Big Moon”, and “Funny Face”. Check out the variety of giant pumpkin seeds that are available at Harris Seeds.
Pumpkins for Pie
Some pumpkins are best for making that delicious homemade Thanksgiving pie. Common pie varieties are “Sugar Treat”, “Baby Bear”, and “Peanut Pumpkin”. Check out the variety of pie pumpkin seeds that are available at Harris Seeds.
How to Cure and Store Pumpkins
To prepare pumpkins for storage, cure pumpkins in a sunny spot for 10 days. This works best if the temperatures are above 70 degrees with high humidity. After curing, store pumpkins in a cool, dark, dry area until ready for use. With proper curing and storage, pumpkins can stay good for up to 6 months in storage.
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Halli is a 4th generation gardener. Her great-grandmother had a beautiful garden and orchard and grew all the food to feed her large family. Halli has been growing her own garden for over 20 years. Growing her own food, improving the soil, and feeding her family home-cooked meals are her passions. Halli loves to connect with old, time-honored ways of cooking, gardening, and living.