Do you want to know How To Grow Pumpkins and much more secrets? Follow our amazing and detailed guide.
As they say ‘Keep Calm and Get Your Pumpkin On’. Pumpkins are not only amazing for decoration during the Halloween and Thanksgiving they are great to plant and easy to take care of too. There are so many things that you can do with pumpkins. If you let your imagination free you will realize that there are more to them than we think.
Below we will give you tips on how you grow pumpkins not only in your garden but also in pots. Additionally, you will know how to take proper care of them and how many pumpkins you should plant together. Let’s have a look at how long it takes to grow them.
How Long Does it Take to Grow a Pumpkin?
Pumpkins need full sun in order to grow properly. The best season to plant them would be after the last frost. In this way, the soil will become warmer and this is exactly what the pumpkins need in order to grow. The month that you should start planting them would be from May to early June and July.
Once you plant them they will germinate from 5 to 10 days and then you will see your first results. Pumpkins are annuals and they will take a few months in order to have your pumpkins ready. If you will choose a small variety or a big one will not have any difference whatsoever. They still need their time in order to grow. The maximum would be 120 days in order to be harvested.
In order to mature they need to be pollinated. The male flower will pollinate the female one which will produce the pumpkin. You can pollinate the female one by transferring the pollen from the male flower to the female one by using a cotton swab. Once the female flower is pollinated then you will see your pumpkin form within a week. Let’s see how the pumpkins can successfully grow.
How to Grow Pumpkins Successfully
Pumpkins enjoy growing in hot and sunny weather. There are many varieties that you can choose from and there are varieties with different colors too. You can find pumpkins of pink, white and red color. Their shape can be quite different too. Pumpkins can be round, flattened or even pear-shaped. When you will plant your pumpkins make sure that the pH of the soil will be 7.0.
In order to grow your pumpkins successfully, you will need to prepare the soil. You must create moulds and these moulds should be from 8 to 10 inches in height and to have a diameter of 1 foot. Before you plant them you should add in the soil 1 to 2 tablespoons of fertilizer. You could use a ratio of 4-8-5 or 6-10-10 to the hills.
You should plant your seeds 1 inch deep and you should plant no more than six seeds together. The seeds will germinate within 4 to 6 days. When the first leaves appear you should remove them. You should leave the healthiest ones. You can add fertilizer after three weeks.
When you will water your pumpkins make sure that the water will reach the depth of 6 to 8 inches. It depends on the weather and the place that you live in on how much water you should add. Ideally, you should add 1 inch per week. You will also notice flowers that the pumpkin will produce.
There are male and female flowers that can be found on the same plant. The male flowers blossoms first and the female flower follows later on. The male ones have a straight stem and the female ones have a shape of a small fruit with a rounded base.
How to Grow Pumpkins in Containers
If you want to grow pumpkins in containers you should follow the following steps. You should plant the pumpkin seeds 1 inch deep, and the pot should be at least 10 gallons. Pumpkins are amazing because they don’t need special care and they can adapt to the climate that you live in especially if you keep them in pots.
If you choose a big pumpkin variety then you should use a pot that is 25 gallons and 24 inches deep. You should always remember that the pots need to have a tray and a good drainage system because you don’t want the pumpkins to rot. When you will plant them make sure to place them in the sunniest place.
Apart from being in a sunny place, pumpkins will need a warm climate and a soil that will be able to heat up easily so as to keep the pumpkins warm. Use manure or compost in order to protect them and grow. When you water them do not water their foliage because the water will destroy the plant.
How Many Pumpkins Per Plant
When you will plant the pumpkins make sure to place them at the edge of your garden. Big pumpkins should be spaced 5 feet apart and the small varieties should be spaced from 2 to 3 feet apart. There is a possibility that a single pumpkin seed can produce 6 or 7 but that depends on the variety of the seeds that you will plant.
If you take proper care of them they might produce even more. You can narrow down the number of the pumpkins if you want them to get all the nutrients from the soil and to be big and ready for consumption.
When to Plant Pumpkins for Halloween
Pumpkins have been associated with Halloween. We can’t imagine Halloween without pumpkins that are carved in Jack O’lanterns. The best time to plant them in order to be ready for this special time of the year would be the end of June. If you want you can also start by planting them in pots inside the house and then transplanting them outside.
If you leave in a climate with frost then you should count at least 120 days for the pumpkins to be mature and be ready for harvest. Once you have counted the days then it is easy to take care of them because the process is exactly the same as the one that we mentioned earlier.
Conclusion
Pumpkins are easy to grow. All you need to do is to follow our tips and you will have healthy pumpkins whether you want to plant them in your garden or keep them in pots inside your house. There is nothing better than having your own pumpkins that you will have ready for Halloween or Thanksgiving. Enjoy!
