Growing Pumpkins
Pumpkin is a warm-season vegetable that can be grown throughout
much of the United States. Besides being used as jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween,
pumpkins are used to make pumpkin butter, pies, custard, bread, cookies
and soup.
When to Plant
Pumpkin is a very tender vegetable. The seeds do not germinate
in cold soil, and the seedlings are injured by frost. Do not plant until
all danger of frost has passed, and the soil has thoroughly warmed. Plant
pumpkins for Halloween from late May in northern locations to early July
in extremely southern sites. If pumpkins are planted too early, they may
soften and rot before Halloween.
Spacing and Depth
Vining pumpkins require a minimum of 50 to 100 square feet
per hill. Plant seeds one inch deep (four or five seeds per hill). Allow
5 to 6 feet between hills, spaced in rows 10 to 15 feet apart. When the
young plants are well-established, thin each hill to the best two or three
plants.
Plant semi-bush varieties one inch deep (four or five
seeds per hill) and thin to the best two plants per hill. Allow 4 feet between
hills and 8 feet between rows.
Plant miniature varieties one inch deep, with two or three
seeds every 2 feet in the row. 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 bush varieties one inch deep (1 or 2 seeds per foot
of row) and thin to a single plant every 3 feet. Allow 4 to 6 feet between
rows.
Care
Pumpkin plants should be kept free from weeds by hoeing and
shallow cultivation. Irrigate if an extended dry period occurs in early
summer. Pumpkins tolerate short periods of hot, dry weather pretty well.
Bees, that are necessary for pollinating squash and pumpkins,
may be killed by insecticides. When insecticides are used, they should be
applied only in late afternoon or early evening when the blossoms have closed
for the day and bees are no longer visiting the blossoms. As new blossoms
open each day and bees land only inside the open blossoms, these pollinating
insects should be safe from contact with any potentially deadly sprays.
Harvesting
Pumpkins can be harvested whenever they are a deep, solid
color (orange for most varieties) and the rind is hard. If vines remain
healthy, harvest in late September or early October, before heavy frosts.
If vines die prematurely from disease or other causes, harvest the mature
fruit and store them in a moderately warm, dry place until Halloween. Cut
pumpkins from the vines carefully, using pruning shears or a sharp knife
and leave 3 to 4 inches of stem attached. Snapping the stems from the vines
results in many broken or missing "handles." Pumpkins without stems usually
do not keep well. Wear gloves when harvesting fruit because many varieties
have sharp prickles on their stems.
Avoid cutting and bruising the pumpkins when handling
them. Fruits that are not fully mature or that have been injured or subjected
to heavy frost do not keep. Store in a dry building where the temperature
is between 50 and 55°F.
Common Problems
Powdery mildew causes
a white, powdery mold growth on the upper surfaces of the leaves.
The growth can kill the leaves prematurely and interfere with proper
ripening.
Cucumber beetles and squash
bugs attack seedlings, vines and both immature and
mature fruits. Be alert for an infestation of cucumber beetles
and squash bugs, as populations build in late summer, because
these insects can damage the mature fruits, marring their appearance
and making them less likely to keep properly.
Questions and Answers
Q. The first flowers that appeared
on my pumpkin plants did not form fruits. Why not?
A. This condition is natural for
cucurbits (such as cucumber, gourd, muskmelon, pumpkin, squash and watermelon).
The first flowers are almost always male. The pollen on these first male
flowers attracts bees and alerts them to the location of the blooming
vines. By the time the first female blossoms open, the bees' route is
well established and the male flowers' pollen is transferred to the female
flowers by the bees. Male flowers bloom for one day, then drop off the
plants. The male flowers may predominate under certain conditions, especially
early in the season, or under certain kinds of stress. The small fruits,
visible at the bases of the female flowers, identify them. There is no
swelling on the bases of the male flower stems.
Q. How can I grow pumpkins that weigh
more than 100 pounds?
A. Use one of the jumbo varieties.
Plant in early June and allow 150 square feet per hill. Thin to the best
one or two plants. High fertility, proper insect control and shallow cultivation
are essential. Remove the first two or three female flowers after the
plants start to bloom so that the plants grow larger with more leaf surface
before setting fruit. Allow a single fruit to develop and pick off all
female flowers that develop after this fruit has set on the plant. Do
not allow the vine to root down at the joints near this developing fruit
because these varieties develop so quickly and so large that they may
actually break from the vine as they expand on a vine anchored to the
ground.
Q. My grandmother made pies with
a green-striped, long-necked pumpkin. Is this variety still available?
A. Yes. The variety is Green-Striped
Cushaw. Because it has a unique texture, some cooks prefer it for custards
and pies.
Q. Will pumpkins, squash and gourds
cross-pollinate and produce freak fruit if I interplant several kinds
in my garden?
A. Pumpkins, squash and gourds are
members of the vine crops called "cucurbits." The name is derived from
their botanical genus classification of Cucurbita (often abbreviated
C.). There are four main species of Cucurbita usually included
in the pumpkin, squash and gourd grouping. The varieties within a botanical
species (which may be referred to as pumpkins, squash or gourd) can cross-pollinate.
Varieties from different species do not. For example, zucchini crosses
with Howden's Field pumpkin, acorn or spaghetti squash, small decorative
gourds, or Jack-Be-Little miniature pumpkins because they are all members
of the same botanical species (C. Pepo).
However, cross-pollination does not
affect the taste, shape or color of the current season's fruit. Crosses
show up only if seeds from these fruits are saved and grown the following
year. Butternut squash, Small Sugar pumpkin, White Cushaw pumpkin, and
Big Max pumpkin could all be grown in the same area without crossing because
each variety comes from a different species. Because bees carry pollen
for distances of a mile or more, in suburban areas where many gardens
are in close proximity, fruits must be bagged and pollinated by hand if
pure seed of non-hybrid varieties is desired.
Q. What is the difference between
a pumpkin and a squash?
A.
It is all in what you call it. Varieties of each of the four species,
discussed in this section are popularly called "pumpkins," and
varieties of each are called "squash," more by tradition than by
system. In fact, orange color sometimes helps determine what is
a pumpkin. Two varieties of the same species, C. maxima,
hold the records for the world's largest squash and pumpkin. The
variety called squash is gray to green and larger one called a
pumpkin is pinkish to orange. Shape may vary slightly, but these
two freely inter-pollinate and are botanically pretty much identical.
Unless you are dealing with specific rules or regulations at a
show, you can pretty much interchange the words squash and pumpkin,
though you can expect a fight with purists, no matter what you
do.
Growing
Giant Pumpkins in the Home Garden
http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/1000/1646.html
How to grow a really big pumpkin!
Giant Pumpkins
http://www.backyardgardener.com/wcgp/index.html |
