Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Pumpkins
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Growing
- Use row covers to protect plants early in the season and to prevent insect problems. However, remember to remove covers before flowering to allow pollination.
- 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 the patch.
- 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 and disease.
- Add mulch around your pumpkins to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and discourage pests.
- 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 on them.
- Side-dress with aged manure or compost mixed with water.
- Small vine varieties can be trained to grow up a trellis. Larger varieties can be trained upward, too, to support the fruit, usually with netting or old stockings.
- 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 formula fertilizer.
- If your first flowers aren’t forming fruits, that’s normal. Both male and female blossoms need to open. Be patient.
How to Grow a Bigger Pumpkin
- After a few pumpkins have formed, pinch off the fuzzy ends of each vine to stop vine growth and focus plant energy on the fruit.
- 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 the soil.
- Or, gardeners looking for a “prize for size” pumpkin might select 2 or 3 prime candidates and remove all other fruit and vines.
- As the fruit develops, turn them—with great care not to hurt the vine or stem—to encourage an even shape. Slip a thin board or stone or piece of plastic mesh under pumpkins to protect them from rotting on the soil.
- 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 to plants.
- Feed heavily and cultivate shallowly.
- Remove the first two or three female flowers to generate more leaf surface before a plant sets fruit.
- Allow one fruit to develop. Remove all other female flowers.
- Ensure the vine does not root down near the joints to avoid breakage.
- Learn more about growing prize-winning pumpkins!
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 for cooking.
Miniature Pumpkins
Miniature pumpkins are very productive and easy to grow, sometimes producing up to a dozen fruits per plant.
- ‘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 tiny treat. Vine variety. Days to maturity: 90 to 100 days.
- ‘We-B-Little’ is an All-America Selection winner, and ‘Munchkin’ is another great miniature pumpkin.
Pumpkins for Carving
- ‘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 120 days.
- The larger ‘Magic Lantern’ and ‘Merlin’ are great for carving and decorating.
Giant Pumpkins
- ‘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 avoid breakage.
- ‘Big Max’, ‘Big Moon’, ‘Jack O’ Lantern’, and ‘Funny Face’ are some of the best giant pumpkins for carving.
Perfect Pumpkins for Pies
- ‘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 flesh for pumpkin pie.
- ‘Cinderella’s Carriage’ is also perfect for pies or soups.
- ‘Peanut Pumpkin’ also produces very sweet flesh and can be great in pumpkin pie or pumpkin puree.
Colorful Decorative Pumpkins
- ‘Jarrahdale’ has blue-green skin and makes for great decorations.
- ‘Pepitas Pumpkin’ is orange and green.
- ‘Super Moon’ is a large white pumpkin.
Cooking Notes
- See how to clean a pumpkin for cooking.
- Don’t forget about the seeds! Roast them with salt or cinnamon for a tasty treat.
Catherine Boeckmann
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I am growing a giant pumpkin and it is about 2 feet wide now but the vine it is on goes about 5 feet past it... can I cut the vine past the pumpkin or will it hurt the pumpkin ? The vine is like 1-2 inches thick now.
I don't have much time to write, but whatever you do...do not cut the vine as you will have problems. The vines anchor down and draw nutrients from the soil.
I planted these pumpkins the last week of June. I live in Mckeesport Pennsylvania & I have lots of flowers & vines but no pumpkins yet we have had a lot of rain &they are in full Sun fresh compost every week & there are a lot of bees this year is there any thing I can do this is my first year with pumpkins.My daughter wanted them she even bought the seeds
I planted 3 different types of pumpkins, all in 3 different locations. The small pumpkin plant produced one softball size pumpkin which is turning a yellowish orange. It keeps making new buds, but they fruit is dying off. On my large pumpkin plants, I have a medium size pumpkin that is green and still growing but again, I only have one on that plant. My third is flowering like crazy but just budding now. It is August right now and I was wondering how long into the season that they may still produce new pumpkins. We have also had a ton of rain this year and its hard to keep them from getting too wet. I'm hoping to get at least one pumpkin per plant! The leaves all look very healthy and the flowers. Some stems are yellowing a bit. Any help will be appreciated!
See the Care notes above, Gia. Are you fertilizing? Have you trimmed the stems? Details above. Pumpkins need water; see above, but too much rain can be too much. And pumpkins like—need—hot temps. Some parts of the country have just not been how this summer! Read the advice above and see if you can bring your plants to fruition!
Hi, I've grown regular pumpkins for many years . This year I planted white pumpkins too. I cannot find any info about what they look like while growing . Do they start out white . ..not green ? I also planted bird house squashes and I have something growing that is white and smooth skinned . I took a picture but don't know how to send . I have a skull mold I want to put on it before getting too big IF it's a pumpkin ! Thank you . Cathy from Iowa
I had a wonderful surprise this morning as I looked out into my backyard. Two beautiful yellow blooms. Knowing I had not planted anything there I walked out to discover a pumpkin vine growing. I had thrown out a rotting white pumpkin in the early spring and it has sprouted on its own. It's about 4 feet long and appears very healthy at this stage. It seems to have 5-6 blooms. I live in north Florida. The vine is growing in a natural setting. The soil is rich with pine and oak leaves. There is morning glory vine creeping very near that concerns me. What is the best way to protect and hopefully bring my pumpkins to maturity. The vine was obviously not planted in a usual way such as a mound etc. Hasn't had any fertilizer etc. thanks.
Hi, Mary! What a great surprise! Everything you should need to bring these beauties into fruitfulnes and harvest is in the tips, above—care, maintenance, fert, the works! Let us know if you need anything else. Cheers!
I decided to try and grow a few pumpkins for fall decorations rather than buying them this year. I planted seed from to medium sized varieties (I think one was called jack-o-lantern). Anyway, I intended on planting only a couple of hills but I had the seed and decided to plant all of them while I had them in my hand! Anyway, I did no soil amendment prior to planting and I was wondering what could I add as a side dressing to help my pumpkin plants thrive. I planted most of the seed along the back side of my father's workshop a foot or so away from the foundation. They are in a sunny, western location and receive rain runoff from the roof and from the watering can when it is dry. The remaining seed are planted along the north side of the workshop and do not receive as much sun but they are thriving and the vines are starting to run. The soil is a little better on the north side as my father used to dump wood ashes there but the back side is mostly red clay. Any simple and cheap ideas for improving the soil for the pumpkin plants on the back side of the workshop would be appreciated!
Good for you! You’ve hit the jack (o lantern) pot! We are especially impressed with your plants on the north (least sunny) side. You must have a green thumb.
Good questions, good plan! You’ll find good answers about everything above, in the bullet points related to planting and caring for your vines and fruits. Side-dressing is a form of fertilizing, so consider that as you read.
Here’s hoping for a hefty harvest!
