Growing Pumpkin

Cucurbita sp. : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
                  P P P

(Best months for growing Pumpkin in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 68°F and 90°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 35 - 47 inches apart
  • Harvest in 15-20 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Sweet Corn
  • Avoid growing close to: Potatoes

Your comments and tips

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19 Feb 19, John Kelly (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I've grown pumpkins which have fruited nicely ,havent harvested all of them,the vines are slowly dying back but now the plants are re shooting quite nicely ,will they produce fruit ?
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20 Feb 19, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I don't think you will grow much on the new growth - you can give it a try and see what happens. It is not a perennial.
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08 Feb 19, eden ande (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
i live in Eritrea and work on national agricultural research instiution. in Eritrea pumpkins grows well in the subtropics,tropics and also semi arid places. my question is about powdery mildew, all our pumpkins gets affected by this fungus so i would like to ask if their are any cultivation practices we need to practice to avoid this fungus
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10 Feb 19, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Read up about organic or in organic sprays for it. Google. Plant in a different area each time. Go to dengarden on the net .com - go to gardening and organic ways to kill and prevent powdery mildew. A mixture of 60 water to 40 milk is quite good.
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07 Feb 19, Haydn Battye (Australia - temperate climate)
Can I plant pumpkin seeds now? I live in Mildura VIC which is quite warm at this time of year
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07 Feb 19, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)
Did you read the pumpkin guide here. They are the best times to plant.
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02 Feb 19, Katrina (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Hi guys, our neighbours are growing pumpkins (look like crown variety with pale skin and flat bottom) and the vines came over into our place and a nice big pumpkin grew, so of course I picked it right away not knowing anything about pumpkins. The inside was a weird pale yellow rather than orange, I presume now that I have just picked it too soon and it is unripe! Is that correct? Thanks.
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04 Feb 19, Michelle (Australia - temperate climate)
Not a problem if it is unripe! can still make lovely pumpkin soup (I actually thin it is better with unripe pumpkin!)
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05 Feb 19, Mike (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Put some curry in it to give it some taste. lol
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03 Feb 19, Mike (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Check with your neighbour next time. Next time wait until the stem has become hard and woody. About 16-20 weeks after seeds germinate.
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Showing 241 - 250 of 835 comments
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Geraldine, each pumpkin plant should produce both male and female flowers. The earliest flowers that emerge will be male and all up there will be more of them produced in total than female. You may or may not have to encourage pollination. If you have bees hanging around they'll do it for you. Consider making your vegie patch more enticing to bees by companion planting some bright flowers (like calendula, nasturtiums, french marigolds, sunflowers, etc) to attract them. Anyway, the way to tell the difference between male and female flowers (in case you didn't already know) is that female flowers will generally have a bulbous base near the stalk, below the flower. Also, since they take up a lot of room, have you considered training the pumpkin vine along a fence or up the side of a garden shed? A workmate of mine had them fruiting up on his shed roof last summer.

- Jaci

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. GardenGrow is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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