Growing Pumpkins Step 1.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love Halloween, the cooler weather, and pumpkin spice everything. One of my favorite things about the Fall is pumpkins, but to grow your own pumpkins for October, you have to start in the Late Spring/ Early Summer.

If you have the space and a little extra time, pumpkins aren’t too difficult to grow. They do require some fertilization and you may have to hand pollinate them, but we will cover all of that in this series of blog posts.

1. First, pick the type of pumpkin you want to grow. Do you want them to bake or cook with, to carve jack - o - lanterns out of, or to compete in our Pumpkin Growing Competition? We have different types of seeds to meet your pumpkin needs. If you don’t have a ton of space and want to try to grow them vertically on a trellis, pick a variety that produces smaller pumpkins such as New England Sugar Pie Pumpkins.

2. Pumpkins can be started in smaller containers and transplanted, but be careful not to disturb the roots. During this time of year, you can direct sow the seeds where ever you would like the pumpkin plants to grow. Keep in mind, that pumpkin plants can get quite large. Make sure you plant them in an area that gets full sun. If you are direct sowing, add compost to the soil.

3. Keep the soil moist. Never let it dry out completely while waiting for the seeds to sprout.

4. When the plants start to grow, water less frequently (1-2 times per week is usually enough. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy or flooded). Do not soak the leaves when watering and keep in mind that pumpkin plants can be very dramatic. If it is a warm day, the plants will often wilt in the afternoon even if the soil is still damp.

5. Fertilize! Pumpkins need lots of nutrients. You can use an all purpose fertilizer, or you can try the more advanced method of using different types of fertilizers throughout the life of the pumpkin plants. A little more on this below-

• In the beginning, use a nitrogen heavy fertilizer such as blood meal, or fish fertilizer.

• Once the plants start to flower, switch over to something high is phosphorus such as bone meal.

• Once you see tiny green pumpkins starting to form under the flowers, they need a fertilizer higher in potassium.

  We will go over more tips and tricks for growing pumpkins every week, so stay tuned! And as always feel free to reach out of us with any questions you may have.

  Happy Planting!