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Index : Vegetable Gardening
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- 22. Plant Pumpkins Now for Halloween. - Top
- A fun activity to do with your kids is to plant a pumpkin patch in your garden. Most pumpkin varieties mature in 100 to 120 days. By planting now, you'll have pumpkins ready to pick for Halloween decorations and harvest arrangements.
Most pumpkins are really types of orange-colored summer squash. They come in a variety of sizes, some as small as soft balls, others as large as beach balls. The really big ones entered in contests are mostly the ‘Big Mac' and ‘Big Moon' varieties of "pumpkin" squash.
One of the best pumpkin varieties is ‘Autumn Gold', an All American Selections award winner. It's a medium-sized pumpkin at 7 to 10 lbs., early to color and early to harvest at 90 days. The seeds of Autumn Gold can be roasted for a crunchy, nutritious snack.
Other medium-sized pumpkins I recommend are ‘Spirit', ‘Jack-0-Lantern', and ‘Harvest Moon'. Some of the best small pumpkins at 2 to 5 lbs. include: ‘Small Sugar', ‘Wee-B-Little', and ‘Spooktacular'. Some other recommended large pumpkins, 15 lbs. or larger include: ‘Connecticut', ‘Howden', and ‘Ghost Rider'. For the best selection of seed, check your favorite garden catalog or contact the garden seed suppliers directly over the Internet for fast ordering.
Pumpkins grow best in a moist soil, rich in organic matter. If you are planting pumpkins in your garden, locate them at the edge of the garden plot where the vines can grow out and away from other garden plants. This will help conserve space. If you wish to prepare a small garden plot for planting pumpkins, mix in lots of organic matter. Bagged compost or manure works great to enrich the soil for planting. Mix as much as you can into the top 12 inches of soil. At the same time, also mix in 2 lbs. of ammonium phosphate or similar vegetable fertilizer for every 100 square feet of garden bed.
Pumpkins need a minimum of 40 to 100 square feet of growing space, depending on the variety. If your planting more than one pumpkin, space them 5 to 6 feet apart. Plant three to five seeds together one inch deep in the soil. Keep them evenly moist. You can help retain moisture by covering the soil with a layer of straw, compost or peat moss. When the seeds sprout, thin them to the best two plants. If your growing a miniature pumpkin, thin to the one best plant.
If you don't have the garden space, then try planting in a bag of soil. Select a large 2 cubic ft. bag of quality potting soil and place it in a location that receives full sun during the morning but some shade in the afternoon. Turn the bag so that the white or lighter side is facing up. The sun's light will be reflected and the soil inside the bag will stay cooler. Poke several holes in the bottom of the bag for drainage.
Next, cut a 6 inch diameter hole in the top center of the bag and moisten the soil in the bag. Plant your pumpkin seeds in the center of the hole. Add a drip emitter for watering. Keep the soil moist by watering daily. Feed twice weekly with a liquid fertilizer. As the seeds sprout, thin to two seedlings. As the vines grow they will cover up the bag and spread out into the surrounding area. I suggest using smaller growing pumpkin varieties for growing in bags.
If you want to increase the size of your pumpkins, give them plenty of water fortified with liquid fertilizer. Remove the first two or three female flowers (the ones with the swollen ovaries) after the plants start to bloom. This will allow the plants to grow larger before setting fruit. Allow a single fruit to develop and pick off all female flowers that develop after this fruit has set on the plant. Do not allow the vine to root down at the joints near this developing fruit. The giant varieties develop so quickly and so large that they may actually break from the vine as they expand on a vine anchored to the ground.
Pumpkins can be harvested whenever they are a deep, solid color (orange for most varieties) and the rind is hard. Cut pumpkins from the vines carefully, using pruning shears or a sharp knife, leaving three to four inches of the stem attached. Snapping the stems from the vines results in broken or missing "handles". Pumpkins without stems usually do not keep well.
Pumpkin Facts:
Pumpkins are native to Central America.
The name pumpkin originated from "pepon - the Greek work for "large melon". The French called them "pompon", the English changed "pompon" to "pumpion" and finally American colonists changed "pumpion" to "pumpkin".
Colonists sliced off pumpkin tips; removed seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie.
In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.
Pumpkin flowers are edible.
Pumpkins are an excellent source of Vitamin A.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona 520-626-5161. - Updated: June 27, 2001
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