![]() Miniature pumpkins are very productive and easy to grow, sometimes producing up to a dozen fruits per plant. All pumpkins are technically edible, but ornamentals are better for carving, and other pumpkins are best for cooking. When choosing a pumpkin, think about what you want to do with it. Take care that the vine does not root down near the joints to avoid breakage.Įvery pumpkin has a best purpose.Remove the first two or three female flowers to generate more leaf surface before a plant sets fruit.Plants need 130 to 160 days to mature, so start seedlings indoors, then thin to the best 1 or 2 to plants. Fruit can grow to 200 pounds on 25-foot vines. To grow a giant pumpkin, try ‘Dill’s Atlantic Giant’ jumbo variety.Slip a thin board or stone or piece of plastic mesh under pumpkins to protect them from rotting on the soil. As the fruit develops, turn them-with great care not to hurt the vine or stem-to encourage an even shape.Or, gardeners who are looking for a “prize for size” pumpkin might select the 2 or 3 prime candidates and remove all other fruit and vines.Once the fruit has started to develop, prune the main and secondary vines to 10 to 15 feet and remove the tertiary vines, if desired. Pruning the vines may help with space and fruit formation. Pumpkins produce main vines (from the base/center of the plant), secondary vines from the main ones, and tertiary vines from the secondary vines.After a few pumpkins have formed, pinch off the fuzzy ends of each vine to stop vine growth and focus plant energy on the fruit.Both male and female blossoms need to open. If your first flowers aren’t forming fruits, that’s normal.Just before the blooming period, switch to a high-phosphorus formula fertilizer. Side-dress with aged manure or compost mixed with water. When plants are about 1 foot tall, just before vines begin to run, fertilize regularly with a high-nitrogen formula. Small vine varieties can be trained to grow up a trellis. Larger varieties can be trained upward, too, to support the fruit, usually with netting or old stockings.Side-dress with aged manure or compost mixed with water.Also, take care not to damage the delicate vines the quality of the fruit depends on them. Weed gently pumpkins have shallow roots that can be easily damaged.Add mulch around your pumpkins to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and discourage pests.Avoid watering foliage and fruit unless it’s a sunny day. Pumpkins need 1 inch of water per week. Water deeply, in the morning and on very hot afternoons, especially during fruit set.Or, grow colorful flowers near the patch. ![]() To attract more bees, try placing a bee house in your garden. If you must use it, apply only in the late afternoon or early evening, when blossoms are closed for the day. Bees are essential for pollination, so be mindful when using insecticides to kill bugs or fungicides to control fungi.However, remember to remove covers before flowering to allow pollination. Use row covers to protect plants early in the season and to prevent insect problems.In this video, Ben shows us his method for growing pumpkins! Rows should be 6 to 8 feet apart, with seedlings thinned to the best plant every 2 feet when they have their first true leaves. Plant miniature varieties one inch deep, with two or three seeds every 2 feet in the row. When seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to two or three plants per hill by snipping out unwanted plants. In hills, set seeds 1 inch deep with 4 or 5 seeds per hill.Once seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to one plant every 18 to 36 inches. In rows, sow seeds 6 to 12 inches apart.Prepare hills by digging down 12 to 15 inches and mixing/filling in with lots of aged manure and/or compost. A hill does not mean the soil has to be mounded it’s a spot containing a group of plants or seeds. Hills warm soil quickly (so seeds germinate faster) and aid with drainage and pest control. ![]() Sow seeds either in rows 8 feet apart or plant in hills 4 feet apart.Vining pumpkins require a minimum of 50 to 100 square feet per hill. If you are short on space, ensure the vines are directed to the outer edge of the garden bed.Count backward from a week or so before Halloween. Look at the seed packet for how many days until harvest. Want pumpkins in time for Halloween? Plant in the North from late May and in the extreme South from early July. ![]() Then harden off seedlings before transplanting into warm, aged manure/compost-enriched soil.
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