Pie pumpkins are used for making pies or roasting. Good varieties to start with include Baby Pam, Winter Luxury or New England Pie. Jack-O’Lantern pumpkins are larger and less flavorful than pies. If you want to grow pumpkins large enough to carve, try Howden, Rock Star or Connecticut Field. Miniature pumpkins are grown for decorative purposes. Jack-Be-Littles are a good choice if you want some tiny orange pumpkins in time for fall holidays.
If you live in a place with cold winters and mild summers, planting in late May after the last chance for frost has passed is your best bet. This way your pumpkins will be ready in time for fall. If you live in a place with long, hot summers, you can put your pumpkins in the ground in July and have them ready for Halloween. If your primary reason for growing pumpkins is to have them as a food crop, and you don’t mind having them ready to eat before the fall, you can start the seeds indoors 3 weeks before the last frost date in your area, so they’ll be ready to put in the ground as soon as it warms up. To start seeds indoors, simply sow single seeds in four-inch peat seed pots filled with seed starting mixture (not soil). Keep the pots well watered and place them in a sunny window. The seedlings will be ready to plant outside in a few weeks.
The ideal soil pH for pumpkins is 6. 0 to 6. 8. If your soil hasn’t been tested in awhile, get a soil testing kit and determine whether your soil falls into this range or is a little high or low. You can amend it by mixing in lime, bone meal or compost as needed. To test whether the soil has good drainage, dig a hole and fill it with water. Allow it to drain overnight, and then re-fill the hole to conduct the test. Measure the water level with a yardstick or measuring tape each hour to see how much it has gone down. [1] X Research source Draining 1-3 inches per hour is ideal. If your soil drains too quickly or too slowly, try adding compost to improve the drainage. To give pumpkins a boost, amend the soil by tilling it to a depth of 4 inches (10. 2 cm) and mixing in organic compost.
If you live in a place with strong winds, you can plant the seeds in a trench about 3 inches (7. 6 cm) deep. This will protect the seed from wind as it gets established. If you’re transplanting seedlings, space the holes 5 feet (1. 5 m) apart.
Don’t soak the soil if it’s already wet, since this can lead to rot. Water in the morning, so the water that gets on the pumpkin leaves has time to dry. If you water in the evening, powdery mildew can form on the wet plants. When the pumpkins begin to grow and turn orange, you can stop watering as frequently. Stop watering altogether about a week before they’re ready to harvest.
If you notice your flowers dropping off and no pumpkins growing, you may need to hand fertilize. Use a small paintbrush or Q-tip to transfer pollen from a male flower to female flowers.
When the vines reach about 5 feet (1. 5 m), clip off the tips of the vines. This will encourage more side shoots to grow, and it will improve pumpkin production.
If plain water doesn’t seem to be working, try wiping down the leaves with soapy water, or a solution of water and ammonia. If necessary, you can treat the plants with pesticides. However, these will harm beneficial bees, which pollinate the pumpkin flowers and help the plant stay healthy. To minimize the damage to bees, treat the pumpkin plants at night, when the bees are away in their hive.
