100% Organic Pumpkin Seeds
About Pumpkins
Did you know pumpkins have been grown in North America for almost 5,000 years? It’s a lot of fun to grow this native plant.
There are two requirements to growing pumpkins: Having the space to grow them and a long growing season, generally from 75 to 100 frost-free days. Growers in northern locations need to plant by late May; in southern states, plant by early July.
Pumpkins are heavy feeders and require a lot of nourishment. That said, if you feed and water them as directed, pumpkins are easy to maintain.
Of autumn’s wine, now drink your fill;
The frost’s on the pumpkin, and snow’s on the hill.
–The Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1993
How to Plant Pumpkins
Pumpkins are big, greedy feeders. At least 2 weeks before you plan, mix lots of compost or aged manure into the soil at the planting site.
- Pumpkins have extensive root systems and respond to an application of 3 to 4 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet. Fertilizer should be broadcast evenly and worked into the top 2 to 3 inches of soil prior to seeding.
- Strongly acidic soils will need to be limed. If your soil test finds that your soil pH is too lower, add the recommended amounts of lime.
- There are two ways pumpkin seeds are usually planted: rows or hills.
- A hill does not mean the soil has to be mounded; it’s a spot containing a group of plants or seeds. Hills warm soil quickly (so seeds germinate faster) and aid with drainage and pest control.
- Prepare hills by digging down 12 to 15 inches and mixing/filling in with lots of aged manure and/or compost.
- For hills: Plant 4 to 8 feet apart. The soil at each hill may be mounded or left level with the rest of the area. Set seeds 1 inch deep with 4 or 5 seeds per hill. Keep seeds moist until germination. When the plants are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to 2 to 3 plants per hill by snipping off unwanted plants without disturbing the roots of the remaining ones.
- For rows: Sow seeds about 6 to 12 inches apart in rows that are 6 to 10 feet apart. Once the seedlings grow, thin to one plant every 18 to 36 inches.