Who knew pumpkins were so high-maintenance? It takes them a whopping 90 to 140 days to grow up and become full-fledged pumpkins.
1 Planting Late spring is the perfect time to plant pumpkin seeds, so your pumpkins will be ready for Halloween fun. Just make sure to put two or three in a 1-inch-deep hole.
But you just can't wait for those little guys to grow? No problem! Just plant the pumpkin seeds indoors in moist soil and place them in warm weather.
2 Germination Germination takes 5-10 days, so you must watch the soil temperature. After a week, the first true pumpkin leaves appear, and the seedlings look like baby pumpkins!
3 Growing Vines Pumpkin seedlings can quickly become a handful! Pumpkin vine growth can easily jump to 10-20 feet long and grow over a raised bed's edge.
For best results, plant your pumpkin patch in May or June when the danger of frost has passed, and stake the young plants to support them as they grow.
4 Blooming After 8-10 weeks, the first flowers pop up between the thin stems. Female flowers have a small fruit behind them, while male flowers don't have any fruit.
Give them well-composted manure or organic fertilizers, and water your patch with a good inch of water every week.
5 Flower Pollination Pollinators will flock to the female flowers to transfer pollen from the male. Once pollinated, the female flower will shut itself off and start growing the fruit.
6 Fruit Growth Stage The pumpkin fruit will start to take shape in about 45-55 days, and the pumpkin will grow larger and rounder.
As it matures, the skin will become thicker and more rigid. Eventually, the vines will start to brown and wither, and the pumpkin will turn its natural color (whatever that may be).
7 Harvesting And now for the main event: pumpkin harvest time! First, check the color of the skin. Does it match the variety of pumpkins you planted? If so, that's a good start.
Keep an eye out for the long vines starting to die back and a hollow sound when you tap the pumpkin. When the stem becomes tough, it's a surefire sign that your pumpkin is ready!
Click on the link to learn how to harvest your first pumpkin the right way. ⬇