Spacing & support
Soil & water
Support & training
Harvest signs
Common problems
Container growing
Companion overview
Crop rotation
Sources, reviewer & updateGrowing pumpkin
Pumpkins are grown like winter squash but need even more space and 90–120 frost-free days. Sow after frost in mounds enriched with compost, give each plant at least 1.5 m in all directions, and turn fruit gently as it grows to keep it from flattening.
Harvest before hard frost when the skin is hard and fully coloured, leaving 5–10 cm of stem. Pests and diseases match other cucurbits.
Give pumpkins the warmest, most fertile spot in the garden and a thick mulch once the soil is warm. Pinch the growing tips after three or four fruit have set if you want larger pumpkins rather than more of them, and slide a tile or board under developing fruit to keep it off wet soil. Powdery mildew arrives in late summer; watering at the base and good spacing delay it.
Edible parts and safety
Edible: fruit, seeds, flowers.
Pests and diseases
Common pests: squash bugs, cucumber beetles, squash vine borer. Common diseases: powdery mildew, bacterial wilt. These vary by region; a photograph is an example, not a diagnosis. See the pest and disease guides and your local extension service.
Timeline
