How to Grow Pumpkins From Seed
Introduction
The summer is over. The weather is questionable. The autumn is starting to show, and it is getting colder bit by bit. Yes, climate change is causing the seasons to change, and the weather is still usually hot in most places, but the evenings are getting colder, which is a great reason to crave those delicious orange fruits. Pumpkins are not just for the Halloween or pumpkin spice latte aesthetic, but you can also make various meals and soups with them. They are delicious, colorful, healthy, and good for decorations.
Halloween is in less than two months, and we can see the rise in the color orange and autumn styles already. However, since high inflation is going around the world, every item on the market costs high. Not only that, but these items are inorganic and bad for your health too. Instead of buying fruits from the mart or bazaar, growing them in your backyard is always a great option. But how can you grow them in your home?
How Long for Pumpkin Seeds to Grow
Going to the store and picking the right size and the most orange one, then carving cute or scary shapes on it, is an amazing routine for Halloween. Unfortunately, we have to wait a couple more weeks to start eating them as their start in mid-September. We have to hang in there before going to the store or bazaar to purchase them and make delicious meals. But If you are thinking, “I want my pumpkins now!” Well, you can plant them if you have a house that welcomes a great amount of sun.
Can you get your pumpkins ready to harvest if you plant now? Well, pumpkins do not grow that fast, you need to take care of them for at least 70 to 120 days before they mature. We are already in September, and Halloween is in two months.
Can You Grow Pumpkins From Fresh Seeds?
Pumpkins, one of the most delicious fruits of autumn, contain a bunch of seeds. Some people dry these seeds, and some throw them away, but if you are thinking about how to grow pumpkins from seeds, you will put the fresh seeds aside, thinking that you will plant them later on.
So can you grow pumpkins from seeds? The answer is yes, you can grow them from fresh seeds. It does not matter whether they are organic or store-bought, all types of pumpkin seeds can be used to grow these delicious and fun orange fruits as long as you are careful and know how to take care of them.
How to Prepare Pumpkin Seeds
You have bought the most delicious pumpkins, made a pie out of it or a great spicy meal, and topped it with yogurt. Eating that delicious fruit made you want to plant them in your backyard or balcony. And now, you are thinking about how to grow pumpkins from seed. Well, you first need to go back to the kitchen and take the seeds that you took out from those sweet pumpkins.
What exactly would you need to do now to grow them? The first step to using fresh seeds is to rinse them all out in cold water, get rid of all that pulp on them, then separate them from each other to find the bigger seeds. More giant seeds have a higher chance of sprouting and growing into that juicy fruit.
After separating them, place them on a paper towel, then wait for them to dry. If the weather or the season is not the appropriate time for them to grow, you need to store them in a cold space. So, wrap them in a paper towel carefully and separately, then put them in your fridge.
But you should be careful which type of seeds you store to grow them later on. If the seeds are from a giant type, the seeds you will plant will be as big as the pumpkins you took the seeds from. Therefore, if you are looking for cute, small, and orange ones to grow in your backyard or balcony, you should be careful to choose those types of ones to take the seeds from.
If you are considering going to the store and purchasing seeds already prepared for sowing, then you must check the name of the pumpkins, as the names state different types and sizes. For example, you should search what type of pumpkin “Casper” seeds would make and decide if you want to go ahead with those or not.
Month to Plant Pumpkin Seeds
Okay, you went to the store, checked and searched the type of pumpkin seeds before purchasing them, then purchased your preferred ones and came home, or you bought your favorite fresh pumpkins, made your delicious deserts and meals, then prepared the fresh seeds for the planting. Now what? When are you supposed to plant those seeds to harvest the pumpkins near the Halloween season?
Pumpkins take 75 to 120 days to mature, so if you want to enjoy your pumpkins in the autumn, you need to plant them in late May to early July. Make sure that the place where you plant your seeds sees lots of sun as the sun will give the pumpkins their color.
“I Am Not a Farmer, How Do I Do This?”
If you want those delicious orange delicacies but have no experience farming or do not even have a big backyard to create your farm and are thinking about how to grow pumpkins from seeds in your own home, you need to research as much as possible and start taking notes.
When starting this farming journey with no experience, it is best to keep the plants near you so you can check up on them regularly and get used to a routine. If you have a small space, you should also ensure that your seeds produce small-sized fruits.
If you have a garden or balcony, the best thing you can do is plant the seeds indoors first and then move them outdoors to grow bigger and healthier. After preparing your seeds, you need to decide where you will plant your seeds. Look around your house for the best area to plant the seeds, there should be enough space and sun for them to grow and blossom.
If you only have a small space available for planting and plan to sow the seeds indoors first, put them 1 cm deep and lay the large side on the dirt as if you are putting them to sleep. If you are sowing outdoors, then you need to put them 3 cm deep into the soil. After that, you need to cover them up with a plastic sheet so they can feel the sun’s warmth.
You must make sure that the pot you planted the seeds in has holes underneath or the planting area has a drain of some sort, as pumpkins do not like too much water lying around. After they start branching out and getting ready to be transplanted, you need to prepare them first.
As outdoors have different weather conditions than your house, you must make sure that they get used to that difference. You can leave them in a cold place for a couple of hours for a week, or you can put them outside under the sun so they can get used to it and take them inside in the evenings. After a week or two, they will be ready to be planted outside.
What to Do Before Their Vines Start Growing
As you prepare to plant them outside or in a larger space, you must consider the vines and how much they can grow. If you have chosen small-sized types, then you need to leave a space of 1 meter (3 feet) between the seeds, but if you are planting large-sized fruits in a garden, then you can leave around 2 meters (5-6 feet) between the seeds because those vines will grow.
Make sure that the area you are transplanting has no insects, pests, or weeds. You must keep those out, otherwise, your seeds will die before they can blossom. You can also check the pH levels of the soil that you will plant them in and ensure that it is around 6 to 6.8. Pumpkins need lots of water, so the water must go directly to their roots and not the top part as they can rot.
What to Keep In Mind
You have prepared the seeds, planted them, and they started growing and sprouting. You need to remember to take the plastic sheet or cover off when they are about to flower as bees and pollination is essential for the seed’s growth.
- You need to water your pumpkins early in the morning because the sun will cause them to dry up. Sometimes in the hot afternoons, you may water them a little bit again to protect them from drying, especially in the early days of growth.
- You must avoid watering too much and put a draining hole so the soil does not get too soggy, as that may cause the plant to rot.
- You need to feed them with fertilizers that are high in potassium or nitrogen every 2 weeks before they start forming vines, then you need to switch to fertilizers that are high in phosphorus. Pumpkins like feeding, and you must be careful with your fertilizers.
- When pruning or cleaning out the weeds, you must be extra gentle as they have sensitive vines.
- Your first blooming flowers may not be forming any fruits. Do not get sad or worried. You need to be patient with them.
- You must be extra careful with pests and insects, especially in the first weeks.
- When they are about to be harvested, break off any leaves that form a shade on top of the pumpkins so they can get more color thanks to the sun.
Conclusion
Pumpkins are delicious and fun fruits that go well with everything. You can make a delicious soup or various desserts like ice cream, pie, or a sherbet dessert, or make them into a spicy meal you can enjoy with yogurt. You can carve and decorate them for Halloween as well. So it would be great to grow them in your garden.
Unfortunately, growing them is not easy as you will need a large space that sees lots of sun and has no frost problem. You need to keep them away from pests, weeds, and insects and follow the watering schedule strictly. They love the sun and need it, but you need to protect them from drying up. They can be susceptible, but if you are patient and keep fertilizing them regularly, you can end up with a good batch.
So if you are thinking about how to grow pumpkins from seed, it is easy. All you need to do is research, put it into action, and be patient. Your best batch will be the ones you plant around mid-June and early July, probably as the chance of frost will be close to none. So do not just think but also put into action and grow those delicious fruits in your garden now.
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