Have you ever wondered how to grow pumpkins at home? Learn about growing pumpkins in your garden, different squash and pumpkin types, and when to pick pumpkins.
Our pumpkin patch is one of our family’s favorite things to grow in our garden! It’s become a yearly tradition to pick them and take fall-themed pictures. Then we love decorating our yard with them, selling extras, and, most of all, eating them! But to get to that place takes work and planning.
What to Know About Growing Pumpkins
If you’re just learning how to grow pumpkins, before you order seeds, consider the space pumpkins and winter squash take up. Don’t plant without carefully planning where to grow these so they won’t overtake your other vegetables. It’s best to plant these by themselves so they don’t out-compete your other plants with their vines and fruits. The vines can grow incredibly long and vary from 10-50 feet, depending on the variety.
Considerations When Learning How to Grow Pumpkins
Next, consider what exactly you want these for. Are you growing pumpkins for decorations, food, or a combination? Do you want heirlooms from which you can save seeds or hybrids (which need to be purchased)? Do you want only one variety or several?
There are many different varieties of pumpkin and winter squash, all belonging to the genus Cucurbita. They are classified into four subspecies: Maxima, Pepo, Moshata, and Argyrosperma. If you want to save seeds, plant only one in each subspecies, or net your blooms and hand pollinate.
How to Grow Pumpkins
Whether an experienced gardener or a beginner, you can grow winter squash and pumpkins. It’s a good idea to hip up rows or hills to plant your seeds on (hipped-up rows about 12 inches wide and hills 2 to 3 feet in diameter). We live in the Ozark foothills and plant in late May or early June or as late as the first week of July. Consult your growing zone so you don’t plant too early or late. Our harvest is generally ready the second week of September (just in time for our fair). Ensure your growing season will accommodate the maturity date on the seed packet. If your soil isn’t moist, water your seeds after planting. Keep them watered until they sprout if it’s very dry. In my experience, it’s best to grow them in a bit heavier soil that is moisture-retentive to reduce drought stress. We don’t mulch our plants because they produce their own ground cover as soon as the vines grow. Mulch can be beneficial when growing pumpkins to reduce weeds before the vines take over. However, they also promote squash bugs.
Pumpkin and Squash Care
Pumpkin and winter squash are pretty hardy vegetables and don’t require constant care. They will benefit from weeding when small. As they grow, they will shade out the weeds. Plant your hills or rows far enough apart to till between them before the vines grow too big. Some people prune the vines and flowers to produce smaller quantities and larger fruit. Water if it gets dry, but if your soil is heavier, it will naturally hold more water and reduce the drought stress. Filling recycled jugs with water and poking a few holes in the bottom allows slow watering of the hills. Drip tape also works well if you have the ability. Mulching with straw, leaves, pine needles, or weed fabric is possible but can promote bugs.
You’ll want to encourage good bugs, including bees and other pollinators. You can do this by planting pollinator-friendly flowers around your garden or setting up a beehive near your growing pumpkins. Some pollinator-friendly plants include wild natives such as coneflowers, lavender, and bee balm. Proper pollination is necessary for a good harvest! The “male” flowers will bloom first and are little stems. The “female” flowers will be right against the main stems and will form a fruit behind them. If they’re pollinated properly, the flower will fall off, and the fruit will continue to grow. If there’s poor pollination, the fruit will wither and fall off. It’s possible to hand pollinate flowers if you have little or no pollinators in your area. Use a Q-tip or small paintbrush and brush the pollen from the male flowers onto the female pistols.
Preventing Disease and Pests
As your fruits grow, keep an extra eye out for pests. It’s a good idea to spray every week to 2 weeks or use another pest control method. Placing the fruits onto pallets or rubber mats can help prevent rotten spots on the bottom if the ground is especially wet. Clean up any rotting fruit promptly to help discourage disease and pests.
Squash Bug Deterrents
Squash bugs are a tremendous pest for pumpkin and winter squash (or summer squash). We use a multifaceted approach and accept that we will have some while growing pumpkins regardless of what we do. We aim to prevent and reduce them as much as possible to get a good crop. First off, plant a catch crop around the garden. Last year, we planted Blue Hubbard squash on the outside edge of our pumpkin patch. Funnily enough, we liked that variety extremely well for eating, and it stored the best of our varieties. Plant insect-deterring plants intermingled with your squash, such as marigolds, sage, and lemongrass. Rotate your pumpkin patch as much as possible or plant a cover crop (like buckwheat) that helps break the bug cycle.
Spray the plants with neem oil. Neem oil is both a natural insecticide and a fungicide. We buy a concentrate, mix it in a sprayer, and spray the plants. Spray late in the evening to help prevent bee kills. Hand-pick the bugs if your patch is small enough. This is backbreaking and ineffective, but we kill the ones we see. Place a few boards throughout your patch. The bugs like to congregate under them, and you can kill them more easily. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the base of each plant. This coats the bugs with a fine dust and suffocates them. Clean up the vines after the season and get rid of them so bugs don’t overwinter. We did end up with a few squash bugs, but it was at the very end of the season, and the fruits were already set. By then, they didn’t do any damage, so I could live with that.
When to Pick Pumpkins and Winter Squash
Many pumpkins and squashes will grow until all the vines have died. When this happens, check the skin on them. It should be hard enough that you can’t pierce it with your fingernail. Cut the vines, leaving a stem of about 4 to 5 inches on it. Allow your fruits to cure in a dry place for about 2 weeks. Any that don’t have good hard skins or have blemishes should be used first. Wipe excess dirt off and store in a dry, warm environment. Check frequently for any that might be going bad and use them immediately or preserve them for later use.
Winter Squash and Pumpkin Types
There are many pumpkin and winter squash varieties, so there’s something for everyone! Here are a few of our favorites:
Blue Hubbard: This is my hands down favorite winter squash! It is a knobby, warty, blueish-gray squash weighing 5 to 40 pounds! These store exceptionally well; we successfully stored ours for 8 months without losses. These are delicious in anything from stews and pureed soups to muffins or bread. They’re also fantastic as a pie!
To cook: Cut the squash into large chunks (remove the seeds) and place onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Roast at 375 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until you can easily pierce the hard skin with a fork. For savory dishes, you can drizzle olive oil and onion powder on the flesh side before cooking. For sweet dishes, you can drizzle with melted butter and cinnamon. Scoop out the flesh and use as desired.
Cushaw: These are generally green-striped squash with a crookneck (though there are other colors). They average 10 to 20 pounds, though we had several almost at the 30-pound mark. These also kept exceptionally well in our root cellar-type storage for 7 months with little loss. These can be used in pies and in place of dishes like mashed potatoes, but our favorite way is Cushaw muffins. You can cook it like the Blue Hubbard or prepare it in your electric pressure cooker.
To do this, cut the squash into chunks (remove seeds and save to roast if desired). Add to pressure cooker with 1 cup water. Close the vent and pressure cook for 12 minutes. Allow pressure to come down naturally for 10 minutes, then release the steam. Scoop the flesh out and puree for baked goods or mash as a side dish. Alternately, peel your raw squash and shred the flesh in a food processor or grater for casseroles or fried squash fritters.
Sugar Pie: These lovely smaller orange pumpkins average 2 to 5 pounds. As the name implies, these are delicious for pumpkin pies. Sweet, with a decidedly pumpkin flavor, Sugar Pie Pumpkins are also excellent keepers. We stored ours for 8 months with very little loss. As detailed above, Prepare the flesh in the oven or pressure cooker.
Other excellent varieties for cooking include Butternut, Long Island Cheese, and French Turban. Atlantic Giant, Big Moon, and Jack-O-Lanterns make great decorative pumpkins.
While squash and pumpkin keep well stored whole, they are also wonderful cooked and frozen, shredded and frozen, made into pumpkin butter and frozen, canned, and dehydrated.
Growing pumpkins is a fun and rewarding experience that never gets old! I hope you try your hand at growing pumpkins this year!
