Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
  S S                  
        T              
        P              

(Best months for growing Pumpkin in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 68°F and 90°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 35 - 47 inches apart
  • Harvest in 15-20 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Sweet Corn
  • Avoid growing close to: Potatoes

Your comments and tips

15 Feb 21, (Australia - temperate climate)
By the guide here pumpkins take around 5 months to grow and ripen.
26 Jan 21, victor (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
hello. i want to know which pumpkin produce green seeds and where can i buy it to plant it?
24 Jan 21, chris (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Planted a few grey pumpkin plants, but all seem to be coming on orange. Last season the first 2 on the vine ended up giant orange and the rest were grey. What do we need to do to get just the grey ones. Cheers.
05 Jan 21, Sue Bradshaw (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I inherited a large Kent pumpkin vine when we moved into our house a year ago on the Sunshine Coast. It came with a single substantial pumpkin. As I've learned more about the way they reproduce I've tried to hand pollinate with only one successful outcome. The vine currently has two pumpkins, one of which was made without any help from me. A couple of weeks ago (late December) the vine became full of tiny female flowers and the male flowers were in abundance too. I thought I'd have a great outcome and even saw a bee or two. But not all of the tiny females even reached the flowering stage, just withered where they grew. It has been pretty hot and humid here, with temps 30+ most days and night in the low 20s. I keep the water up to them but they really suffer during the mid day heat. Would shade cloth help? Is there anything I can add to the soil?
06 Jan 21, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate)
Most veggies are grown as an annual. To have one 12mths old is a bit unusual. The vine would be very long now before the flowers appear, maybe the plant can't sustain that. Pumpkin zucchini and probably watermelons and rock melons etc When they flower they start with male flowers to start attracting the bees, then produce female flowers. The female flower is only open for one day generally and will be shut by lunch time. So it needs a few visits from bees in that 2-4 hrs to fertilise the female flower. Or needs hand pollination on that day. I live at Bundy and I grew pumpkin through last summer and it was 3-4 degrees hotter last summer than this year so far. I think you just have an old plant that has had it's day. After you pick this years crop think about planting next year in the spring, your vines will be well establish going into summer. It will also allow you to refresh the soil with compost, manures fertiliser etc.
23 Nov 20, Linda (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hello, I threw pumpkin seeds onto a mound of organic soil. The vine is strong and healthy however the fruit forms but then dies off. I have given it some veggie fertilizer and worm juice. I thought that pollination wouldn't be an issue if the fruit is forming. We live on the Gold Coast and the pumpkin patch gets the morning sun actually its in the sun for most of the day.
24 Nov 20, Ruth (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Your flowers are possibly not pollinated and will nnot mature. Pick a male flower, strip back the petals and tickle the female flowers with it and you should get mature fruit
24 Nov 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If the soil was good to start with then it didn't need the extra fertiliser.
24 Nov 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
By the sounds of it you don't have any bees in your garden. Read up about how pumpkin pollinates. You can do it by hand. Go through the comments here, many comments about pollinating them. Female pumpkin flower is only open for 1 day and generally in the morning. Water low and not all over the plant.
13 Oct 20, Mark hillhouse (New Zealand - temperate climate)
When I was a child, my grandmother used to grow pumpkins adjacent to a vary large rock area. She used to trail the vines onto the rock and that was where the pumpkins developed. I don't have a large rocky area to do this so I was wondering about spread some sort of rock aggregate on the ground and trail the vines onto that. Anybody done this before? Cheers
Showing 81 - 90 of 825 comments

My mum made me put 2 seeds in the same spot, will that ruin the pumpkins?

- Alisina Zahidi

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.