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Pumpkin / winter squash

Cucurbita maxima, C. pepo, C. moschata · Cucurbitaceae

Halloween pumpkins and storage squash

Photo: Agnes Monkelbaan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sun: Full sun
Soil: Rich, well-drained soil
Soil pH: About 6.0-6.8
Water: At least 1 in per week; up to 2 in per week in the 30 days before harvest
Hardiness: Frost-tender warm-season annual. Sow when the soil is 65°F or warmer, after danger of frost
Height and spread: Long running vines needing about 50-150 sq ft per hill, with rows 6-15 ft apart. Bush types are more compact

Guv's tipWant bigger pumpkins? Remove early female flowers or extra fruit. Harvest before a hard frost, when the rind is hard and the color solid.

Through the year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sow or plant

Harvest

Months are a rough guide. Time it by your own frost dates: after last frost (warm season).

When to plant

Sow direct after frost in warm soil: late May-early Jun in the North, to early Jul in the far South, for October pumpkins

Harvest or flowering

Flowers in summer. Harvest late Sep-Oct, before a hard frost, when the rind is hard and the color solid

Pruning

Optional: remove early female flowers or extra fruit for larger pumpkins. Vines may be trained along rows

Making more plants

Seed

Watch out for

Pest

Squash bug

Look for: Wilting, speckled leaves; clusters of bronze football-shaped eggs under leaves

What to do: Hand-pick adults, nymphs and egg masses; trap under boards; protect young plants

Pest

Squash vine borer

Look for: Sudden wilting of runners, sawdust-like frass at stem base

What to do: Row covers until flowering (not where cucurbits grew last year); slit stem and remove larvae, cover with soil; timed insecticide

Disease

Powdery mildew

Podosphaera xanthii

Look for: White powdery patches starting on older leaves

What to do: Resistant varieties, air circulation; labeled fungicide if severe

Disease

Downy mildew

Pseudoperonospora cubensis

Look for: Angular yellow spots on upper leaf, gray-purple growth beneath

What to do: Labeled protectant fungicide; avoid overhead watering

Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.

Safety and spread

Pets and people: Non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses (NC State Extension). Plain pumpkin is safe for dogs

Weed risk: Not on the federal noxious weed list. The USDA PLANTS database shows no federal or state noxious or invasive status

Checked against two or more reputable gardening sources. How we check our facts

Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the UK and Australia.

Keep it by the back door

The Plant Doctor and the Guv's book

Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 USA plants in one book.

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