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

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02 Feb 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If you read the last 20-30 posts here about pumpkin, we talk about hand pollination. Each female flower is only open one day and quite often shut by lunch - so check each morning. If it has grown quite a bit I would not transplant it.
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01 Feb 18, Katie (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Cat, Yes you can transplant your pumpkin plant! There will be no way to tell what kind of pumpkin you have until your fruit are growing and it may actually end up being a hybrid mixed variety. It should still be good to eat though! Pumpkins produce both male and female flowers. If you do not have many bees or wish to be guaranteed pumpkins it doesn't hurt to hand pollinate particularly if you only have the one plant. Plenty of info online about how to do that but it is easy with pumpkins. Just google
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31 Jan 18, Brenda (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Cat, If you are happy to leave it where it is, and let it get big there, - then leave it there. Pumpkins don't like their roots being disturbed so moving it elsewhere may upset or kill it. Any move will delay it's growth for a bit anyway (transplant shock). If it is happy growing there than it is likely to stay happy and if it needs more sun will likely grow towards sunny areas. Pumpkins are hungry feeders and a compost heap is a great place for one to be planted due to all the nutrients available from the compost. With a pumpkin you will usually get both gender of flower on the same plant.They are pollinated by bees taking pollen from their male to female flowers. (you can replicate this yourself - google hand pollinating or see if you can find a you tube video of it. Pumpkins have such large flowers they are great to practice this technique on) Usually you will see a bunch of male flowers first for a few days. These are just a flower on a long skinny stalk. After a bit the female flowers will come along. Shorter stalk and with a mini fruit below the flower. If they pollinate the fruit will grow larger and the flower will drop off the end. If they don't get pollinated the fruit will shrivel as the flower dies, and both will just fall off the plant. Good luck.
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20 Jan 18, Leon (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Hi - my butternut plants appears to have to many flowers/baby pumpkins. Will the stalk be able to sustain a lot of them or must they be thinned out?
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18 Jan 18, Joanna (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Is it to late to plant pumpkins,
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20 Jan 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Give it a go.
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12 Jan 18, Susan Long (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Can you grow gem squash in South Taranaki, New Zealand? When is the best time to grow them and how?
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06 Apr 18, Denise Gibson (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I live in Wainuiomata and have grown gems for two years running and I intend to plant a lot more this year. They were delicious. I planted the seed at the end of August and as soon as they had about 4 leaves, I planted them out in the garden, I also cut off the bottom of a coke bottle, took the cap off and put the bottle over the seedling until they were a little stronger. Hope this is helpful and good luck.
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14 Jan 18, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Follow the advice for zucchini/courgettes -www.gardenate.com/plant/Zucchini
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09 Jan 18, Colin mcguigan (Australia - temperate climate)
I have 2 Qld blue pumpkin vines growing 1 vine has 1 pumpkin growing on it the other has none lots of flowers but all male no female does any one know what I am doing wrong...?
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I have been growing Queensland Blues & Jap Pumpkins here in Sydneys West for a while and would like to know the following : Male flowers are plentiful usually at the start of the vine & female flowers are not as many but as the vine lengthens more females appear, so how far do you let the vine grow. If cut does the right ratio of flowers continue shoot or that stops everything, what you have is all you get and do you plug the cut end to prevent disease getting into the vine (read that on the net) Also everyone says when the vine withers pick your crop, mine was going great and green but I picked them (stem still green & firm) as I felt they were large enough but several had started to rot inside, we saved them luckey as another couple of weeks would have lost the lot. So how do you know when to pick. heard about tapping it sound hollow its ripe, pick a piece of skin with fingernail the skin can give you an idea. Noticed in the fruit shop many pumpkins have fingernail pieces dug out ??? somebody know something !!!!! As the pumpkin is pollinated & starts to grow do you sit it on a tile or similar keeping it off the ground ( for air & warmth circulation) sometimes when left on the ground the under side looks soft and worms and bugs seem to love that position.

- Robert B

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