Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

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

(Best months for growing Pumpkin in Australia - sub-tropical 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 20°C and 32°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 90 - 120 cm 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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15 May 16, Cathy [email protected] (Australia - temperate climate)
Please someone ,could someone tell me when to plant butternut seeds. Now in May autumn and live in Melbourne in Victoria Australia
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04 Aug 16, Suzanne (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Cathy Gerry Coleby Williams online at Gardening Australia says put your seeds in at 20C as this is temperature needed to germinate pumpkin and all 'curcubit' seeds. Gardenate for temperate Australia says Sep, Oct, Nov for planting. Seeds into some seed raising mix - you can sift your dry compost and add a bit of peat moss and use this as its equally as rich as any 'bought' seed raising mix and when you have actual leaves (as opposed to the first two green 'leaves' which are actually dicotyledons known as'dicots' and not leaves as the plant needs to grow and develop its leaves before being transplanted) plant them out. Hope this helps!
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03 May 16, Lynne (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, Because pumpkins are harvested around autumn should I dry out and save my seeds until spring for planting?
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17 Apr 16, Kevin hall (Australia - temperate climate)
During Autumn do I remove all pumpkin stems and re-compost the soil or trim the stems and cover with straw ?
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27 Apr 16, Richard (Australia - temperate climate)
Either of them
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16 Apr 16, Kathleen Broberg (Australia - temperate climate)
Is it ok to plant pumpkin seeds now in WA. We live in the perth hills at Lesmurdie
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28 Mar 16, Lu (Australia - temperate climate)
When is the best time to plant pumpkin seeds in Perth W.A.
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23 Mar 16, PHil BEvan (Australia - temperate climate)
How do you control fungus in pumkin vines
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24 Mar 16, Alan (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Phil, You can prevent fungal attack simply by watering directly to the base of the pumpkin plant & never spray watering. Its difficult because the plant spreads so I stake lengths of 25mm poly at planting so I don't have to walk through the plants & simply use a funnel in the end of the poly to deliver water morning & night. A weekly dose of seaweed extract is given the same way. At the end of the season when the plants are mature you can spray a little copper but I generally remove the pumpkins, eat the tips & compost the rest. Hope this helps, Al.
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04 Mar 16, Toni (Australia - temperate climate)
Phil Ware sub tropical small pumpkins forming then dropping off. I hand pollinated all new pumpkins. Only one grew large. For space reasons (small garden) I cut the pumpkin from the vine and kept a length of vine attached. When might cut up and cook soup etc?
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I see we should avoid growing pumpkins and potatoes together. I have 2 vegie gardens, they are about 8 meters apart. I grew potatoes(sebago?), tomatoes (gross Lizze), and for the first time capsicum and lettuce in the big one, and jap pumkins in the smaller one last year. Lettuce were great until a hail storm hit, tomatoes, potatoes and capsicum all went well. But the pumkin in a virgin patch went ok, although some fruit did not develop. I had about 8 vines, and at one point there were 25 fruit starting to grow. Some of the flowers did not even open. Others got bulb end rot. I got about 10 good pumkins off the patch, which I think is ok considering it is smaller than recommended at 2 by 3.8 meters, and it was the first time anything had been grown in the soil. Did I have a lesser success with my pumkins because the potatoes were close by? I did have to hand pollinate a bit. What are the main reasons for not growing spuds and pumkins together?

- Don

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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.
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