Growing Pumpkins

Hi Wendy.

Let’s hope we can turn this luck around. Pumpkins are generally easy to grow. The seeds should be either planted directly outside once the risk of frost has past and the soil is warm or indoors about a month before this. They are fast growing seedlings so any earlier than this makes them harder to manage due to their size. Harden them off before planting outdoors, this means to gradually introduce them to the outdoor conditions over a week, as they can sulk with shock going from warm to cooler conditions too quickly.

The soil needs to be very rich with loads of organic material and well-rotted manure as it is a very hungry crop. It needs a lot of space as it will spread dramatically across the garden and try not to water the leaves as this increases the risk of powdery mildew. I hope this helps and you have a bumper harvest of pumpkins this season.