Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

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

(Best months for growing Pumpkin in Australia - temperate regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed

September: Frost tender

  • 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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12 Feb 21, Margaret (New Zealand - temperate climate)
How long do I keep watering pumpkins? They are big now - mid Feb - leaves a bit mildewy. But new leaves growing.They were planted late Oct from memory.
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22 Feb 21, Richard (Australia - temperate climate)
Different pumpkin types take different times to grow but most take over a month to fully ripen and you often wont see any finished products until mid or late March. It is definitely not time to give up yet. Good things to those who wait :) The plants will die very rapidly after the temperature drops in April and May. However if your getting mildew on the leaves in mid Feb I would recommend that you prune or spray the affected leaves to reduce the spread. I have had years where the plant died in late Feb before the pumpkins fully matured and I was very sad.
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15 Feb 21, (Australia - temperate climate)
By the guide here pumpkins take around 5 months to grow and ripen.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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
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24 Nov 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If the soil was good to start with then it didn't need the extra fertiliser.
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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.
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Showing 61 - 70 of 679 comments
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Just found this - commercial production. For efficient pollination and fruit set, there must be: both male and female flowers and bees to move pollen from male to female flowers. A number of factors can influence pollination, Cold and overcast days limit pollination activity of bees. Hot dry conditions desiccate pollen making it unviable. Rapid growth promotes earlier flowering. However, high temperatures, long days and high rates of nitrogen can result in: vigorous vegetative growth and few flowers and a higher proportion of male to female flowers. It is important to check the sex of the flowers. A ratio of 1 female to 7 male flowers is usually considered adequate. Flowers open early in the day and for one day only, and they close by mid afternoon. These periods are shorter under high temperatures. Flowers are most receptive to pollination in the morning when bee activity is usually the highest. Bees are necessary for pollination and must be active in the crop. Flowers require at least 12 bee visits for good pollination. If bees are not plentiful, introduce at least two hives per ha after female flowers appear and male flowers start producing pollen. Spread hives around the field outside the crop, preferably so that bees have to fly over the crop to get to another food source. Destroy flowering weeds around the crop.

- Mike

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