A few weeks before it’s time to harvest, remove any leaves that are shading the plant—this will help give the pumpkins more color. are an important specialty crop for Virginia with over 2,000 acres grown annually. Seed Links : Traditional Variety : Jumbo Virginia Peanut Seed , Quick Maturing Variety : Champ Early Maturing Peanut Seed . Keeping pumpkin plants from growing all over your garden requires a constant watch and quite a bit of pruning. Color, shape, stem size, and seed characteristics (naked or edible seeded) are other horticultural characteristics. Is a squash a pumpkin or is a pumpkin a squash? Set transplants only when the danger of frost is past, though late planting dates make soil temperature and frost concerns a minor concern. Pumpkins are somewhat tolerant of dry soil conditions, but when rainfall is inadequate during critical periods, such as pollination and fruit set, the field should be irrigated. Commercial products are named in this publication for informational purposes only. In other words, plant from the day after the Moon is full until the day before it is new … Pumpkins are marketed as an ornamental crop. The best technical way to classify this group is botanically, and this description centers on the stem. For most jack o’lantern, carving, and pie pumpkins, you can safely tuck seeds into soil between May 15 and June 15, based on your area’s average last spring frost. Water at the base of your plant rather than on the leaves which can lead to fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew, developing. Interest in pumpkins spikes around Halloween, but there's nothing spooky or scary about planting this annual vine if you know exactly when, and how, to start. They met and surpassed all of my exceptions for home-grown pumpkins. Proper variety selection, timing of planting, and field care are important to success regardless of the scale of production. You can start the seeds inside if it's too hot where you are, but get them started by the end of June. Costs for bee rental can run from $40.00 to $75.00 per hive. To plant pumpkin seeds, wait until 75-100 days before you want to harvest them, which is about how long pumpkins take to grow. If you live in the warmer climates, it is best to plant seeds outside as pumpkins do not always transplant well. Thus locating the planting within range of the farm irrigation system is recommended. Wholesale marketing involves two other considerations, packaging and shipping, which are not discussed in this publication. • According to Purdue University Cooperative Service Extension, pumpkins need low … Pumpkins are generally planted as single rows with 30-40 inches between plants in the row and 8-12 feet between rows, depending on plant type. Plan to plant pumpkins in late spring or early summer for a fall harvest. You should be looking to select a sunny section of your garden, south facing with a slight incline is good too if you have it. Plant onion starts and potatoes around January 20. Pumpkin and Winter Squash, Oregon State University, Commercial Vegetable Production Guides, http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/NWREC/pumpkin.html, Pumpkins and Squash, University of California Cooperative Extension Vegetable Research and Information Center, http://vric.ucdavis.edu/selectnewcrop.pump.htm, Growing Pumpkins and Winter Squash, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-24.html, Pumpkins, Vegetables, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, New Crops Center, UK Cooperative Extension Service, http://www.uky.edu/Ag/NewCrops/introsheets/pumpkinintro.pdf, Organic Pumpkin and Winter Squash Production (Summary), National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA site): http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/summaries/pumpkin.html, Growing Giant Pumpkins In The Home Garden, Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet, Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1646.html. were discovered in Mexico, making North America the pumpkin’s native land. Other opportunities may surface for market outlets, but these are the most common. Timing harvest to avoid fall frost (average date, early October) is also a consideration. A summary of the most popular cultivars is presented in Table 1, and contact information for companies specializing in pumpkin research and cultivars is listed in Table 2. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. Lighter soils hold less water and lose it faster to plant uptake and evaporation than do heavier soils, thus irrigation should be more frequent. Be sure to plan your fall fun in advance by visiting each venue’s website. Pumpkin seeds won’t germinate in cold soil. Plant populations at these spacing are approximately 1,600 (for pumpkins in excess of 30 pounds) to 2,800 plants per acre (for pumpkins less than 8 pounds). The lower rate is suggested when following a legume cover crop from the previous year or if green manure was plowed down prior to planting. Find the best dates for planting and transplanting vegetables and fruit! 1996. Important pumpkin diseases include powdery and downy mildew, plectosporium blight, fusarium wilt, and phytophthora blight. Heavier soils can be amended with organic matter to enhance drainage, though this usually is not practical on a large scale. Special thanks to reviewers Ron Morse, professor, Department of Horticulture; Brad Jarvis, Extension agent, Madison County; and Phil Blevins, Extension agent, Washington County; and to Allen Straw, Extension horticulturist, Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center, for cultivar recommendations. Virginia Cooperative Extension, Blacksburg, Va. Online: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/456-420/. Spacing can affect fruit number and size, with more narrow spacing leading to fewer and smaller fruit. It is possible to plant directly into your garden soil or preferably, you can prepare a custom bed for your pumpkins, which should lead to better results. Virginia pumpkin growers harvested 5,600 acres in 2019, up from 5,200 in 2018 and 3,200 in 2017. Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States; M. Ray McKinnie, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, United States. There will be more seeds inside the pumpkin than you will ever be able to plant, so once you have a good amount of seeds rinsed, look over them and choose the biggest seeds. Give your pumpkin patch plenty of space and prepare your bed early, around March/April for May/June planting. If you live in a cooler climate, the earlier you plant … Pumpkins need roughly 110 to 140 frost free growing days before they are ready to harvest. Anthony Bratsch, Extension Specialist, Vegetables and Small Fruit. Regardless of texture, a well-drained soil is imperative if growers are to be successful with pumpkins. 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