How to Grow Pumpkins in Your Garden an Easy Guide

Pumpkins are known to be a popular decoration especially in the fall season. But actually it is also a very fun plant to have in your garden. If you are interested then you need to know how to grow pumpkins in your garden.

Choose seeds

There are many pumpkin varieties that you can find with different taste, color, texture and size. So you need to choose which pumpkin varieties that you like and suit well with your area.

Planting the seeds

Find a spot in your garden that has full sun and then you can plant the seeds directly after the last frost has melted. See the instructions on the seed package to know how long it will grow and mature. Then you can decide when is the right time to sow the seeds based on when you want to have the crops.

You need to put the seeds with enough space in between since their vines can grow far away. But if you have a small garden, you can try to find bush varieties which will have compact form.

How to grow pumpkins better? If you want them to grow better, try to raise the soil a little bit from the ground to form a hill. This hill will allow water to drain faster and it will also get warm faster. That way the vines will grow down a little bit from the plant.

Taking care of the pumpkins

You need to water them until the soil soaks at least once every week. If you live in a rainy weather area then you can adjust the watering timing accordingly. However do not overwater them since it will cause the root to rot. You can add mulch around the plants to keep the moisture in instead. 

Usually pruning is not necessary for pumpkin. Especially since bigger leaves actually help the plants to produce more and bigger pumpkins. Although some experts might prune their plants into only one or two pumpkins each so they can grow giant plants for competition. But you do not need to do this if you do not plan to get the prize.

Add fertilizer

How to grow pumpkins healthy? Since healthy pumpkins need a lot of nutrients you need to add fertilizer to the soil. You can try to use vegetable fertilizer to help them get the right nutrients. You might want to perform soil tests every few years to know which nutrient contained inside your soil. That way, you can plan the type of nutrient added accordingly.

Harvesting

A few months after your plant grows, it will become mature and ready to harvest. You can see from the rinds that grow hard and the pumpkin color that turns orange. Remember to harvest the pumpkin before the frost comes since it can damage the pumpkin. You can cut the pumpkin vines using shears and only leave a few cm of the steam.

As you can see, it is actually very easy for you to grow your own plants as long as you learn how to grow pumpkins correctly. Take care of your plants and enjoy your hard work when the crop is ready.