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Pumpkin tips for a great fall harvest.
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Pumpkin flower, photo by Aimee Gertsch
Pumpkins are a great crop to grow in our climate, and can be grown successfully if you know a few simple things. Pumpkins require well-drained soil, are moderately tolerant of acid soils and can be direct sown from seeds after the last frost (generally after May 15th). They also do well in an area where they get full sun, and have plenty of space to spread out.
At this time of the year pumpkin plants should already be flowering. Although pumpkin plants produce flowers all season long, generally three to five pumpkins come from a pumpkin plant.
There are a few problems to keep an eye out for to ensure that you will have a good pumpkin harvest in the fall; bugs, and powdery mildew. Powdery mildew appears in the middle to late summer. Since powdery mildew thrives in hot and humid weather, it’s best to water your plants in the morning or day. Avoid watering in the late afternoon or evening, since this leads to mildew and other plant diseases.
To help control bugs, search for organic options when possible (especially important when growing pie pumpkins). Sometimes harsher chemicals do need to be used, just be aware of the cautions on the labels.
Pumpkins also prefer a neutral soil. Testing for your soils PH number may seem intimidating at first, but it is an easy skill to acquire that will serve all areas of the garden. The optimum ph for pumpkins is 6.0 to 7.0. If the numbers fall outside of the optimum range, soil amendments are a good way to fix it.
Lastly, if big pumpkins are what you long to grow, choosing one or two pumpkins and removing the rest from the vine will ensure that all the nutrients will go to those pumpkins. This will make the pumpkin grow very large. Growing pumpkins can be a lot of fun, especially in the fall when it’s time to harvest.
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