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Botanical Name
Cucurbita maxima, C. moschata, C. argyrosperma
Plant Type
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Bloom Time
Summer
Flower Color
Yellow
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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Pumpkins
Catherine Boeckmann
Let’s give ‘em pumpkin to talk about! Have you ever dreamed of having a pumpkin patch, but you just don’t know where to start? How do you know when pumpkins are ready to be picked? Can you leave them on the vine too long? How do you cure a pumpkin so that it lasts? See our Pumpkin Growing Guide, which covers everything from planting toharvesting.
AboutPumpkins
Did you know pumpkins have been grown in North America for almost 5,000 years?This native plant is a lot of fun togrow.
There are two requirements for growing this winter squash: 1) Having the space to grow them [ideally 1,000 square feet per plant for giant types, 50 to 100 square feet for regular-size varieties, and about 15 to 36 square feet for miniature types] and2) having a long growing season [generally 75 to 100 frost-free days]. Growers in northern locations need to plant by late May; in southern states, plant by earlyJuly.
Pumpkins do require a lot of nourishment. That said, pumpkins are easy tomaintain.
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
Read Next
How to Grow a Giant Pumpkin
How to Grow Winter Squash Plants: The Complete Guide
How to Grow Potato Plants: The Complete Guide
Planting
Pumpkins are heavy feeders! It’s crucial to mix aged manure and/or compost into the soil. Learn more aboutpreparing the soil for planting.
When to PlantPumpkins
Pumpkins are sensitive to the cold. Do not sow seeds directly until well after the danger of frost is past and the soil has thoroughly warmed to a temperature between 65° and 95°F (18° to 35°C).See your Planting Calendar by zip code.
- Where the growing season is very short, start by sowing indoors in peat pots, 2 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost. Then, harden off seedlings before transplanting into warm, aged manure/compost-enrichedsoil.
- Want pumpkins in time for Halloween? Plant in the North from late May and in the extreme South from early July. Look at the seed packet for how many days until harvest. Count backward from a week or so before Halloween. Don’t plant too early or they’rerot!
How to PlantPumpkins
- Viningpumpkinsrequire a minimum of 50 to 100 square feetperhill.If you are short on space, ensure the vines are directed to the outer edge of the gardenbed.
- Sow seeds either in rows 8 feet apart or plant in hills 4 feet apart. A hill does not mean the soil has to be mounded; it’s aspot containing a group of plants or seeds.However, mounded hills warm soil quickly (so seeds germinate faster) and aid with drainage and pest control. Prepare hills by digging down 12 to 15 inches and mixing/filling in with lots of aged manure and/orcompost.
- In rows, sow seeds 6 to 12 inches apart. Once seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to one plant every 18 to 36inches.
- In hills, set seeds 1 inch deep with 4 or 5 seeds per hill. Keep seeds moist until germination. When seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to two or three plants per hill by snipping out unwantedplants.
Plant miniature varieties one inch deep, with two or three seeds every 2 feet in the row. Rows should be 6 to 8 feet apart, with seedlings thinned to the best plant every 2 feet when they have their first trueleaves.
In this video, Ben shows us his method for growingpumpkins!
Growing
- Use row covers to protect plants early in the season and to prevent insect problems. However, remember to remove covers before flowering to allowpollination.
- Bees are essential for pollination, so be mindful when using insecticides to kill bugs or fungicides to control fungi. If you must use it, 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. Or, grow colorful flowers near thepatch.
- Pumpkins need 1 inch of water per week.Water deeply, in the morning and on very hot afternoons, especially during fruit set. Avoid watering foliage and fruit unless it’s a sunny day. Dampness invites rot anddisease.
- Add mulch around your pumpkins to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and discouragepests.
- Weed gently; pumpkins have shallow roots that can be easily damaged. Also, take care not to damage the delicate vines; the quality of the fruit depends onthem.
- Side-dress with aged manure or compost mixed withwater.
- Small vine varieties can be trained to grow up atrellis.Larger varieties can be trained upward, too, to support the fruit, usually with netting or oldstockings.
- Pumpkins are heavy feeders. Side-dress with aged manure or compost mixed with water.When plants are about 1 foot tall, just before vines begin to run, fertilize regularly with a high-nitrogen formula. Just before the blooming period, switch to a high-phosphorus formulafertilizer.
- If your first flowers aren’t forming fruits, that’s normal. Both male and female blossoms need to open. Bepatient.
How to Grow a BiggerPumpkin
- After a few pumpkins have formed, pinch off the fuzzy ends of each vine to stop vine growth and focus plantenergy on thefruit.
- Pruning the vines may help with space and fruit formation.Pumpkins produce main vines (from the base/center of the plant), secondary vines from the main ones, and tertiary vines from the secondary vines. All may have flowers. Once the fruit has developed, prune the main and secondary vines to 10 to 15 feet and remove the tertiary vines, if desired. Bury the cut tips in thesoil.
- Or, gardeners looking for a “prize for size” pumpkin might select 2 or 3 prime candidates and remove all other fruit andvines.
- As the fruit develops, turn them—with great care not to hurt the vine or stem—to encourage an even shape. Slip a thinboard or stone or piece of plastic mesh under pumpkins to protect them from rotting on thesoil.
- To grow a giant pumpkin, try ‘Dill’s Atlantic Giant’ jumbo variety. Fruit can grow to 200 pounds on 25-foot vines. Plants need 130 to 160 days to mature, so start seedlings indoors, then thin to the best 1 or 2 toplants.
- Feed heavily and cultivateshallowly.
- Remove the first two or three female flowers to generate more leaf surface before a plant setsfruit.
- Allow one fruit to develop. Remove all other femaleflowers.
- Ensure the vine does not root down near the joints to avoidbreakage.
- Learn more about growing prize-winningpumpkins!
Types
Every pumpkin has a best purpose. When choosing a pumpkin, think about what you want to do with it. All pumpkins are technically edible, but ornamentals are better for carving, and other pumpkins are best forcooking.
MiniaturePumpkins
Miniature pumpkins are very productive and easy to grow, sometimes producing up to a dozen fruits perplant.
- ‘Jack Be Little’, a miniature variety, is dual purpose. Store-bought shiny (painted) ones make an ideal decoration for a holiday table. Remove the seeds from farm- or home-grown specimens and then bake them for a tinytreat. Vine variety. Days to maturity: 90 to 100days.
- ‘We-B-Little’ is an All-America Selection winner, and ‘Munchkin’ is another great miniaturepumpkin.
Pumpkins forCarving
- ‘Autumn Gold’ is great for carving and decorating. All-America Selection winner. Vine variety. Excellent for Jack-o-Lanterns. Days to maturity are generally 100 to 120days.
- The larger ‘Magic Lantern’ and ‘Merlin’ are great for carving anddecorating.
GiantPumpkins
- ‘Dill’s Atlantic Giant’ jumbo variety can grow to 200 pounds. Great for those who want to grow a giant pumpkin. Vines 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 the 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 been set on the plant. Take care that the vine doesn’t root down near the joints to avoidbreakage.
- ‘Big Max’, ‘Big Moon’, ‘Jack O’ Lantern’, and ‘Funny Face’ are some of the best giant pumpkinsforcarving.
Perfect Pumpkins forPies
- ‘Sugar Treat’is excellent 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 fleshfor pumpkinpie.
- ‘Cinderella’s Carriage’ is also perfect for pies orsoups.
- ‘Peanut Pumpkin’ also produces very sweet flesh and can be great in pumpkin pie or pumpkinpuree.
Colorful DecorativePumpkins
- ‘Jarrahdale’ has blue-green skin and makes for greatdecorations.
- ‘Pepitas Pumpkin’ is orange andgreen.
- ‘Super Moon’ is a large whitepumpkin.
Harvesting
Your best bet is to harvest pumpkins when they are fully mature—and not before. 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, grow a smallvariety.)
- Harvest on a dry day after the plants have died back and the skins arehard.
- The skin of a ripening pumpkin turns a deep, solid color (orange for most varieties), and the stemhardens.
- Thump the pumpkin with a finger;the rind will feel hard and sound hollow. Press a fingernail into the pumpkin’s skin;if it resists puncture, it isripe.
- Carefully cut the fruit off the vine with a sharp knife or pruners; do not tear it.Be sure not to cut too close to the pumpkin. Leave 3 to 4 inches of stem to increase its keepingtime.
- Handle pumpkins very gently, or they may bruise. Never carry a pumpkin by itsstem.
How to Cure, Store, and DisplayPumpkins
- To toughen the skin and intensify flavor, cure pumpkins in a sunny spot for about 10 days in an area that is 80º to 85º F, with 80 to 85% humidity. This is a great time to display your pumpkin on the front porch! If you’re carving a pumpkin, carve no more than 3 days before Halloween, or the pumpkin will begin torot.
- After curing, store pumpkins in a cool, dry cellar or root cellaror the like at 50º to 55ºF for 2 to 3months.
- Properly saved seeds should last for 6years.
Check out this video for tips on curing and storing pumpkins.
Gardening Products
Wit and Wisdom
PumpkinTrivia
- A slice of pumpkin pie before bedtime may help you tosleep.
- Pumpkins were once thought to curesnakebites.
- Pumpkins have been grown in North America for almost 5,000years.
- Pumpkins are a nutritionalpowerhouse!
- Pumpkin halves were once used as guides for haircuts in colonial days, giving rise to the nickname“pumpkinhead.”
CarvingPumpkins
- Pumpkins are a popular decorating for fall holidays in the United States. Read more aboutHalloween.
- 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 five tips for picking the perfect pumpkin for carving!
Pests/Diseases
Be aware that poor light, too much fertilizer, poor weather at bloom time, and reduced pollinating insect activity can result in poor fruit set, shape, and excessive blossomdrop.
Pest/Disease | Type | Symptoms | Control/Prevention |
---|---|---|---|
Anthracnose | Fungus | Yellow/brown/purple/black spots on leaves; sunken, dark spots on stems and fruit; spots may develop a salmon-pink, gelatinous mass; eventually, rot | Destroy infected plants; choose resistant varieties; provide good drainage; avoid overhead watering; apply compost; use mulch; rotate crops |
Aphids | Insect | Misshapen/yellow leaves; distorted flowers/fruit; sticky “honeydew” (excrement); sooty, black mold | Grow companion plants; knock off with water spray; apply insecticidal soap; put banana or orange peels around plants; wipe leaves with a 1 to 2 percent solution of dish soap (no additives) and water every 2 to 3 days for 2 weeks; add native plants to invite beneficial insects |
Blossom-end rot | Disorder | Dark, water-soaked spots on blossom end of fruit (opposite stem) may enlarge and become sunken and leathery | Caused by lack of calcium in fruit, often due to roots failing to obtain sufficient water and/or nutrients. Remove affected fruit; plant at proper soil temperature; water deeply and evenly; use mulch; maintain proper soil pH (around 6.5) and nutrient levels; avoid excessive nitrogen; provide good drainage; prevent root damage |
Cucumber beetles | Insect | Holes in leaves/flowers; rasped fruit; plants stunted/die | Handpick; mulch heavily; use row covers; destroy plants infected with bacterial wilt(Bacterial wilt signs: wilting; plants die; ends of cut stems, when pressed together for 10 seconds and pulled apart, release stringy, white sap) |
Downy mildew | Fungus | Yellow, angular spots on upper leaf surfaces that turn brown; white/purple/gray cottony growth on leaf undersides only; distorted leaves; defoliation | Remove plant debris; choose resistant varieties; ensure good air circulation; avoid overhead watering |
Powdery mildew | Fungus | Typically, white spots on upper leaf surfaces expand to flour-like coating over entire leaves; foliage may yellow/die; distortion/stunting of leaves/flowers | Destroy infected leaves or plants; choose resistant varieties; plant in full sun, if possible; ensure good air circulation; spray plants with 1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 quart water; destroy crop residue |
Mosaic virus (cucumber) | Virus | Varies with plant, but may include stunting, mottled green/yellow/white pattern or ringed spots on leaves/fruit; distorted leaf growth; warts on fruit | Destroy infected plants; choose resistant varieties and certified virus-free seed; use row covers; disinfect tools; weed; control aphids; use mulch |
Stinkbugs | Insect | Yellow/white blotches on leaves; eggs, often keg-shape, in clusters on leaf undersides | Destroy crop residue; handpick (bugs emit odor, wear gloves); destroy eggs; spray nymphs with insecticidal soap; use row covers; weed; till soil in fall |
Squash bugs | Insect | Many small, yellow/brown/black spots on leaves; wilt; scarred fruit | Handpick; crush yellow/bronze egg clusters on leaf undersides; lay boards on soil and check for pests underneath each morning; remove plant debris; use row covers; rotate crops |
Squash vine borer | Insect | Vines wilt suddenly; plants die; mushy area and /or green to orange-yellow, sawdust-like excrement on/near base of plant stem | If detected early, slit infested stem lengthwise halfway to remove borer larvae, then bury the cut in moist soil to encourage rooting; wrap seedling stems in aluminum foil collar; catch moths with yellow sticky traps; use row covers if no pests previously, but uncover before flowering; destroy crop residue; rotate crops |
Recipes
Pumpkin Pancakes
Browned Butter Frosted Pumpkin Bars
Blue Ribbon Pumpkin Pie
Southwestern Pumpkin Hummus
Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese
Cooking Notes
- See how to clean a pumpkin for cooking.
- Don’t forget about the seeds! Roast them with salt or cinnamon for a tastytreat.
Vegetables
About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann
Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
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Comments
Add a Comment
Thank you for such a thorough article & accompanying resources.
I have done some research regarding planting in grassed over fields & haven't found any pros/cons, hoping to learn about how to use the resources I have. I'm disabled & unable to do a lot of manual labor- such as digging out new garden beds/fields. I do have a horse pasture that receives 80% southern exposure daylight & aprx 10-15% shade from tall forest mid morning throughout Summer. The pasture is fallow & manure aged. Would pumpkins do well if I dug out larger planting holes, place aged compost, bonemeal, and soil into holes, fertilize regularly with fish emulsion, and let the vines ramble?
This ground drains easily, yet my plants stay healthy. Do I need to worry about grass possibly trapping moisture on the pumpkins? Are there other risks with grass that I should know? Will this equate to larger battles with insects/blights/etc?
THANK YOU!
- Reply
It seems to me that in the autumn this issue becomes especially relevant. Pumpkin season is just beginning, and Halloween is approaching, everyone will be carving scary decorations out of pumpkins for their home, and you can always plant seeds. I already had this experience at one time, but it didn’t work out the first time.
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I really enjoyed reading this article about pumpkins! It was informative and engaging. I especially liked the list of different ways to use pumpkins. I'm always looking for new and creative ways to use this versatile vegetable.
{Pumpkins} are a fall favorite for a reason. They're versatile, delicious, and nutritious. They can be used in sweet or savory dishes, and they're a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
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At the beginning of this article you say that ideally 1 pumpkin plant would have 1,000 square feet of space to grow. Is that correct? That seems excessive.
- Reply
Hi,Erin,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention! The 1,000 square feet of growing space would be for the giant pumpkin varieties. We have revised the copy to also include spacing for regular-size and miniature types. Thanksagain!
- Reply
I have a pumpkin that’s a year old! Kept it inside the house during the winter months and then put it outside this summer!!
It’s still in great shape, solid and heavy!! How can this be???
Color has changed somewhat going to a dark green!
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Thanks for the great info about pumpkin growing! I have an issue with two pumpkin varieties I’m growing in different raised beds, I’m wondering if you might have any advice. I’ve been waiting for the female flowers to come up. I finally saw them budding up on my vines but after a few days, they turn yellow and pop off the vine. Am I not fertilizing enough maybe? Thanks again!
- Reply
Hi, Wylie, Lots of things can cause lack of pollination. Some of the most common causes are lack of pollinators; weather, specifically extreme heat or cold temps. Varieties differ in their reaction to temp changes. Nitrogen levels in the soil can also affect fruit set. Excess nitrogen results in vigorous vine growth and delays flowering. You might do a soil test to assess its composition. We hope thishelps!
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The Rouge Vif D’Etampes pumpkin is a gorgeous shape and color, is delicious and a keeper! And has been around a long time.
- Reply
Second year into gardening.
Last year I used a Max seed which produced a strong vine and flowered but no fruit.
This year thanks to some great tips from this site and learning about the Jarrahale pumpkin I planed and am still harvesting the pumpkins. The Jarrahale seems to be a great pumpkin to eat and it is decorative.
Question: my first last frost should be Jan 12 or 21 cannot remember. Could I plant the seeds for next year in January? Would is matter about frowning a larger pumpkin?
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