Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Feb	Mar	May
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

23 May 10, alan wylie (Australia - temperate climate): please advise on ripening after removing from vine jap pumpkins thank you
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23 May 10, Chris@Gardenate (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Alan, have a look at the comments from Pete and Jef - I think they answer this for you.
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22 May 10, Shane (Australia - cool/mountain climate): When pumpkins are ready they will have a hollow sound if you 'rap' on the outside. Just don't use "Ice T" when rapping or they'll harden. ;-)
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23 Jul 10, (Australia - sub-tropical climate): when the imbilicle [ small curly vine from the top] is dead and dried up, then your pumpkin is ready. Goes for all pumpkins. Get a frost on top and you are LOL.
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19 May 10, (Australia - cool/mountain climate): I have dozens of self sown pumpkins, kent variety, the are getting really big, when do I know when to pick them, and also do they continue to ripen of the vine. hope someone can help.. thaks
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21 May 10, pete (Australia - cool/mountain climate): just leave them until the vine dies. as you are in cool/mountain climate probably the first frost will kill them. harvest them leaving the part where they attach to the vine on the pumpkin and store them in an airy dark cool place. when living in canberra i found up in the top air space of my garage the best place. keep an eye on them and dispose of any that start to rot. they should keep for months.
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21 May 10, Jef (Australia - temperate climate): Generally, pumpkins should be left until the vine dies back, and the stalk turns brownish. Cut with at least 5cm of stalk, and leave the pumpkins in the sun for a couple of weeks to harden off. They then should keep for months.
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13 May 10, lyn (Australia - temperate climate): what causes fully formed butternut pumpkins to split along the length?
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08 Mar 21, Andrew (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have 9 Jap pumpkins growing. A lot of the vine has died back but the stems are still green. I noticed a couple of the pumpkins have split. Any ideas why? And are they still edible?
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22 Apr 10, (Australia - tropical climate): Natasha, have you tried Steve's tip above - maybe clip the shoots so the plant puts more energy into fruiting?
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Replying to:

I am just south of Townsville and planted Qld Blue pumpkin seeds in early April in good soil with correct PH levels. Plenty of space to run and good sunshine and watered daily. The plants grew well for about 6 weeks producing masses of mostly male flowers?? I had plenty of bees doing their job, but still only got two pumpkins that didn't reach maturity before the plants died off about 2-3 weeks ago. We did have a couple of 6deg nights but nothing lower. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Cheers

- LynnStinten

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Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

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