A field of orange pumpkins ready to harvest
How to grow

Pumpkins

Warm-season and frost-tender. Start indoors 1 to 2 weeks before your last frost; plant out 2 to 3 weeks after your last frost; sow outdoors 2 to 4 weeks after your last frost. First harvest 90 to 120 days from sowing.

Photo: “A field of pumpkins east of Spalding - geograph.org.uk - 6999860” by Richard Humphrey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

  • Full sun6–8 hours or more
  • 24–72 in apartRows 4–15 ft
  • 90–120 daysFrom sowing
  • Soil 65 °F +pH 6.0–6.5
  • 1–2 in a weekEven watering
  • Frost-tenderHurt by frost and cold wind

Your dates

Put in your ZIP code to see when to start, plant and harvest pumpkins where you live, from your own frost dates.

Look up the frost dates for this ZIP code
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From seed to harvest

  1. SowSeed goes inWeek 0
  2. SproutFirst shoots showWeek 1–2
  3. VinesRunners spread outWeek 4–6
  4. FlowersFlowers openWeek 7–9
  5. Fruit setsSmall fruit formsWeek 8–10
  6. HarvestReady to pickWeek 13–17

How to plant and grow

  1. Time for fall

    Count back from when you want ripe fruit. Sowing too early can leave pumpkins soft or rotting before autumn; most types need 90 to 120 days.

  2. Sow after frost

    Sow seeds about 1 inch deep once frost is past and soil is at least 65 °F. Plant 4 to 6 seeds per hill and thin to the best two.

  3. Space by type

    Bush and mini types fit 2 to 3 feet apart. Vining types need 5 to 6 feet between hills and plenty of room to run.

  4. Water deeply

    Give 1 to 2 inches of water a week, soaking deeply. Ease off as the fruit colors up and ripens.

  5. Protect the bees

    Bees must move pollen between flowers. Remove row covers when the flowers open so bees can reach them.

  6. Harvest ripe fruit

    Pick when the rind is fully colored and too hard to dent with a fingernail. Leave 3 to 4 inches of stem and store cool and dry.

Common problems

A squash leaf coated with white powdery mildew
Photo: “Powdery mildew 9” by Dmitry Brant, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

Powdery mildewDisease

What you'll see: White, powdery patches on the tops of leaves and on stems. Leaves yellow and dry, and fruit may ripen poorly.

Prevent

  • Grow resistant varieties.
  • Give plants sun and space for air flow.
  • Remove badly infected leaves, and clear debris after harvest.

Organic options

  • Sulfur or potassium bicarbonate, from the first spots. Sulfur can burn some vine crops in heat, and never use it near an oil spray.
  • Neem oil. Look for OMRI Listed products.

Conventional options

  • Myclobutanil or propiconazole, if the crop is on the label.

Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.

A cluster of squash bugs on a pumpkin
Photo: “Anasa tristis gathered on a pumpkin” by Ilona Loser, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

Squash bugPest

What you'll see: Flat gray-brown bugs and gray nymphs suck sap, leaving yellow spots that turn brown, and vines wilt. Bronze egg clusters sit under the leaves.

Prevent

  • Check leaf undersides each week from early summer and crush egg clusters.
  • Lay a board by the plants at night and destroy the bugs under it each morning.
  • Clear plant debris and mulch in fall.

Organic options

  • Hand-pick bugs and scrape off eggs.
  • OMRI Listed pyrethrins (without piperonyl butoxide) with diatomaceous earth around the base of the plants.

Conventional options

  • Esfenvalerate, permethrin or carbaryl, aimed at young nymphs soon after eggs hatch.

Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.

A striped cucumber beetle, yellow with black stripes
Photo: “Acalymma vittatum P1310371a” by xpda, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

Cucumber beetlesPest

What you'll see: Yellow beetles with black stripes or spots chew seedlings, leaves and flowers. They spread bacterial wilt, which kills cucumbers and melons.

Prevent

  • Cover seedlings with row cover and seal the edges; remove it at flowering so bees can reach the blooms.
  • Clear weeds and plant debris where adults spend the winter.
  • Mulch with straw around established plants.

Organic options

  • Knock beetles into soapy water on small plantings.
  • Kaolin clay on the leaves deters feeding but does not kill beetles; apply it before damage builds.

Conventional options

  • Several garden insecticides are labeled for cucumber beetles; check the crop is listed. Spray early or late in the day to spare bees.
A squash vine borer moth with an orange and black body
Photo: “Melittia cucurbitae P1440819a” by xpda, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

Squash vine borerPest

What you'll see: A vine wilts suddenly, and a hole near the base leaks orange, sawdust-like frass. A fat white larva is inside the stem.

Prevent

  • Cover vines with row cover when they start to run, and remove it at flowering.
  • Do not use row cover where squash grew last year; borers spend the winter in that soil.
  • Grow butternut squash, which is hit less often.
  • Pull and destroy vines killed by borers.

Organic options

  • Slit the stem lengthwise above the frass, remove the larva, and cover the cut with moist soil.
  • Bt sprays do not reach larvae inside the stem.

Conventional options

  • Carbaryl, permethrin, bifenthrin or esfenvalerate on the stem bases, starting when adults first appear.

Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.

A dense colony of grey aphids on a kale leaf
Photo: “Aphids on Kale leaf” by Sanjay Acharya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

AphidsPest

What you'll see: Clusters of small, soft-bodied green, black or gray insects on new shoots and under leaves. Leaves curl, and a sticky film may coat them.

Prevent

  • Check leaf undersides each week; a few aphids do little harm.
  • Pull nearby weeds, such as wild mustards, that feed aphids.
  • Grow flowers for lady beetles, lacewings and hover flies, and avoid broad sprays that kill them.

Organic options

  • Knock aphids off with a strong spray of water.
  • Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on leaf undersides, repeated as the label allows.
  • Neem oil, or OMRI Listed pyrethrins (without piperonyl butoxide).

Conventional options

  • Malathion or permethrin, if the crop is on the label. These also kill the insects that eat aphids.

Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.

Read and follow the product label: it is the law. It sets the rate, the crops it is for, and the days between spraying and picking. Products registered vary by state; for organic growing, look for products allowed under the USDA National Organic Program (OMRI Listed). We name active ingredients, not brands or rates.

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Sources

Planting dates and growing facts checked against these university extension and USDA pages:

Growth-stage drawings: TallyTill.

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