Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Mar	Apr	May
S	S
		T
		P

(Best months for growing Pumpkin in USA - Zone 5a regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays
T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
P = Sow seed

Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 68°F and 90°F. (Show °C/cm)
Space plants: 35 - 47 inches apart
Harvest in 15-20 weeks.
Compatible with (can grow beside): Sweet Corn
Avoid growing close to: Potatoes

Your comments and tips

07 Jan 19, john colee (Australia - tropical climate): hi when do i plant kent pumpkins in townsville
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08 Jan 19, Mike (Australia - tropical climate): For pumpkin it says April to Jul - I would plant April May.
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26 Dec 18, (Australia - temperate climate): I am growing qld blue and have massed if vie but no flowers? Any clues??
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22 Dec 18, Nichole Stratton (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Can you eat them unripe if they have been picked too soon?
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29 Dec 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Will have little taste.
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20 Dec 18, Ernest (South Africa - Semi-arid climate): Are south african pumpkin seeds safe to eat? If yes,is it all vatie ties? Thank you! !
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19 Dec 18, Gerard (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Is it safe to start growing butternut in January?
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12 Dec 18, Karen Cadle (New Zealand - temperate climate): My squash is growning like a trifford do I just let it grow or would it pay to pinch it out
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13 Dec 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): You could do both depending on how many squash you have. I had a couple of cuies that had 3 flushes of cuies. If I nipped the vine I would have only had 18 cuies - in the end I had 48.
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04 Dec 18, Robyn (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): I live in Te Anau and wonder what is a faster maturing pumpkin variety?? We had a good crop of pumpkins growing last year, but a rogue frost in mid March killed off the plant and the pumpkin crop did not ripen, and the weather is only coming good now (early Dec) to plant.
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Replying to:

I inherited a large Kent pumpkin vine when we moved into our house a year ago on the Sunshine Coast. It came with a single substantial pumpkin. As I've learned more about the way they reproduce I've tried to hand pollinate with only one successful outcome. The vine currently has two pumpkins, one of which was made without any help from me. A couple of weeks ago (late December) the vine became full of tiny female flowers and the male flowers were in abundance too. I thought I'd have a great outcome and even saw a bee or two. But not all of the tiny females even reached the flowering stage, just withered where they grew. It has been pretty hot and humid here, with temps 30+ most days and night in the low 20s. I keep the water up to them but they really suffer during the mid day heat. Would shade cloth help? Is there anything I can add to the soil?

- Sue Bradshaw

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Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Your comments and tips

Gardenate

Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

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