Pumpkin Growing Tips

Growing pumpkins is a lot of fun. These plants are incredibly fast growers and need plenty of space to expand.

• Pumpkin seeds are large and thus easy to handle. Plant seeds 1-2cm deep in a quality seed raising mix in small pots or seedling trays and keep damp. You will generally see germination signs within a week if the weather is warm.
• When the seedlings have a couple of true leaves, transplant to your garden bed. Fertilise, and keep the water up to them. Watch out for snails and slugs in the early stages.
• Plant in full sun if possible, however they will tolerate part shade.
• Pumpkin plants have male and female flowers. The male flowers are on long thin stems, while the female flowers are on short stems with an obvious bulge at the base (the part that will become the pumpkin fruit once fertilised). Although you will have many beautiful large flowers on each plant, most are male flowers and you will likely end up with a few pumpkins per plant.
• The pumpkin fruit is incredibly well camouflaged. You may well find fully grown fruit you didn’t know was there. Your first Kent pumpkins will usually be ready to pick around five months from planting.
• Harvest when the pumpkin stems have dried out. Keep part of the stem attached when you are snipping it off the vine as this will help it stay fresh.
• Kept in a cool dark spot, pumpkins can last months.