![]() Make sure air is able to circulate around fruit. Cut handles with shears to protect handles from being broken off.Ĭlean fruit of dirt and wash in 5% chlorine solution. Harvest when fruit has developed deep color. Place pollinators in field to ensure maximum fruit set. For weed, insect, and disease identification and treatments consult the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide: Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers 2020 or your local extension. The first three weeks focus on weeds and insect pressure. Look for insect, weed, and disease pressure. There’s nothing standing in your way, so why not start today? In three to four months, you’ll have all the pumpkins you want, and all it’ll take is some sun, soil, water, and patience.Scout fields every 7 days to ensure crop health. Now that you know all the basics for planting, raising, and harvesting pumpkins, you can have all the pie and jack-o-lanterns your heart desires. Be sure to leave yourself plenty of stem to give yourself a nice handle (although you should avoid carrying large pumpkins by only their stems, since the stems can break), and to avoid opening any accidental wounds on your pumpkin. Use sharp garden shears, scissors, or a knife and gently sever the vine at the top of the pumpkin. Once you’re sure your pumpkin is ripe, it’s time to take it off the vine. A gentle flick or thump can also work as a suitable test. If it leaves an impression, the pumpkin is not yet ripe. Gently but firmly press your fingernail into the rind of the pumpkin. It can be difficult to tell if pumpkin varieties that are striped, spotted, or otherwise unusually colored are ripe based on color alone, so you may need to rely more on a texture test. Pumpkins ready for harvest are firm and evenly colored. For an early October harvest, you should plan to plant in late May or early June. Your exact harvest date will depend on the variety of pumpkin and when exactly you planted them, but, on average, your pumpkins will be ready after three or four months. Otherwise, mixing compost into your soil before planting and adding smaller amounts throughout the growing season can keep your pumpkins well fed. Test your soil before planting if you plan on using fertilizers. Since pumpkin vines can grow so long, and produce such large fruits, it’s likely not a surprise that they need a lot of nutrients. If you plan on growing large pumpkins, be sure to give them a sling or hammock as extra support, or the pumpkins may break off the vine and fall. All you need is to set your trellis next to where the pumpkins are growing and gently weave the vines into the trellis as they emerge. This gives your pumpkin something to climb, and limits the amount of space they take over, while also keeping the vines from climbing fences, bird baths, or even other plants. You can minimize this by growing your pumpkins on a trellis. Pumpkin vines, while sprawling across your garden, will climb anything they can reach. Watering in the morning can also minimize the risk of sun scorching and give the water time to soak in before evaporating. Just be careful not to get the leaves wet when watering your pumpkins, as this can lead to mildew, leaf rot, or sun scorching. However, once your vines have spread out and developed their leaves, water evaporation will slow as well, as the leaves provide shade for the soil underneath. Mulch can be a great help in water retention, as it stops water from evaporating as quickly. In hotter, drier climates you may need to water your pumpkins more often. This can be given to them all at once, or spread out across the week, depending on your climate. On average, pumpkins need roughly an inch of water each week. Here are a few varieties you might want to look at, organized by what they’re used for:Īpart from sun and soil, pumpkins need plenty of water. There are plenty of varieties to choose from, too. ![]() Mature size and more specific care requirements can vary from variety to variety, so it’s important to double check what your specific variety’s needs are. Too much shade leads to a smaller plant overall, with fewer pumpkins. Although some varieties are more tolerant of shade than others, full sun allows the pumpkin vines to reach their full potential. Mounds also warm more quickly in the sun and help prevent water buildup in the soil. If you want to conserve some space you can plant your pumpkins in mounds, roughly three feet across, which the vines can grow over before spreading out. Pumpkin vines grow quite long, so be sure you have plenty of room. Pumpkins need warm soil, with lots of organic matter and a neutral or slightly acidic pH. ![]() Start your pumpkins in early summer, especially if you’re starting from seeds and not seedlings.
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