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There are many people who like to grow their own pumpkins for Halloween. You may have your own pumpkin patch, if you live in an area where pumpkins get about four to five frost-free months to grow, lots of growing space and can receive direct sunlight for about six hours daily. The seeds of pumpkin are usually planted by late May but the right time for planting seeds may depend on local climatic conditions of the area. You should plant the trees when the temperature in your area is consistently in low 70s during the daytime. A single pumpkin vine may grow as long as twenty-five feet and sprout many shoots along its length.
Build pumpkin mounds in your yard according to the space available to you using loosely packed soil. Mounds should be at least 10 feet apart from each other and measure about three feet in diameter. Surround these mounds with a 6”wide and 6” deep moat to help hold water around the roots. Pumpkins need lots of indirect water and moist soil and with rising temperature, you may have to water the plants twice a day. If the plant leaves are green and healthy, then plants are getting enough water but if they are wilted, you may have to increase amount of water they get. Water the plants using an inexpensive drip system and burying the drip hose under the mound for about an hour. Water the topsoil too by sprinkling water gently on it.
Soak the pumpkin seeds overnight before planting to soften their outer shell and help them to sprout more easily. You may plant four or five seeds in the center of one mound in an inch-deep hole for each seed. Fill the holes with loose soil. It may take 7 to 14 days for the seeds to sprout and pumpkin flowers bloom only for one day and then are sealed closed. After two weeks, select the healthiest plants on each mound and pull out rest of the vines. Make sure that each of them gets enough sunlight and pumpkins should be rotated slightly from time to time. Pumpkins plants grow very quickly and need constant pruning. If the pumpkin looks shriveled or unhealthy, it should be removed from the mound so healthier ones can get more water and nourishment. Fertilize your pumpkin patch once a week with good water-soluble fertilizer.
Pumpkins should not be touched again and again. Pumpkin patch needs constant removal of weeds and protection from a variety of pests such as beetles, aphids, vine borers, gophers and moles. Mildew can rot the pumpkins too. For a more rounded classic pumpkin for Halloween, be on alert when the pumpkin is more than one month old. Be very careful when you lift the stem and vine of the pumpkin in one hand and your golden pumpkin in the other hand. Adjust them carefully so that pumpkin’s bottom is flat on the ground or wood. When the pumpkins attain a deep orange color, it is time for harvesting. Cut them with several inches of stem, so that pumpkins stay fresh for longer periods of time. Put them in sun for about ten days and then store them in a cool and dry place.
