Pumpkins

Land Preparation: Pumpkins

A farmer who wish to grow pumpkin will have to till the soil and remove all the plant debris. Secondly, pumpkins are typically grown at the centre of small hills or earth mounds. Prepare the hills leaving a trench of about half a foot to hold water around the roots of the plant. If you plan to plant more than one hill, make sure they are at least ten metres apart. Mounding will allow better drainage and raised soil allows better heating of the seedling and soil around it in the cooler days.

Planting: Pumpkins

Plant in a sunny spot which receives at least six hours of sun and ensure the ground is well moist before  planting. The seeds also need oxygen to germinate, hence too much water in the soil would literally drown the seeds to death.

If possible, soak the seeds the night before planting to make sprouting a little smoother. This should, however, not worry you too much.

Plant four to five seeds in a small circle around the centre, spacing them about 15 to 20cm apart. Do not sink the seeds more than one inch into the soil; just enough to block light and hide them from  birds.

Crop management: Pumpkins

Watering

• For the next two weeks before the seeds germinate, water gently so as not to wash off or expose the seeds. Once the seedlings sprout, thin out the weaker and smaller seedlings to leave just two or three strong healthy ones per mound.
• Pumpkins are very thirsty plants and need lots of water. Water one inch per week. Water deeply, especially during fruit set.
• When watering: Try to keep foliage and fruit dry unless it’s a sunny day. Dampness will make rot more likely.

Care

• Use row covers to protect plants early in the season and to prevent insect problems. However, remember to remove covers before flowering to allow pollination by insects.
• Add mulch around your pumpkins to keep in moisture, suppress weeks, and discourage pests.
• Remember that pumpkins are tender from planting to harvest. Control weeds with mulch. Do not over-cultivate, or their very shallow roots may be damaged.
• Most small vine varieties can be trained up a trellis.
• Larger varieties can be trained upward on a trellis, too—though it is an engineering challenge to support the fruit—usually with netting or old stockings.
• If your first flowers aren’t forming fruits, that’s normal. Both male and female blossoms need to open. Be patient.
• Bees are essential for pollination, so be mindful when using insecticides to kill pests. If you must use, apply only in late afternoon or early evening when blossoms are closed for the day.
• Pumpkin vines, though obstinate, are very delicate. Take care not to damage vines, which reduces the quality of fruit.
• Pinch off the fuzzy ends of each vine after a few pumpkins have formed. This will stop vine growth so that the plant’s energies are focused on the fruit.
• Pruning the vines may help with space as well as allow the plant’s energy to be concentrated on the remaining vines and fruit.
• As the fruit develops, they should be turned (with great care not to hurt the vine or stem) to encourage an even shape.
• Slip a thin board or a piece of plastic mesh under the pumpkins.

Fertilazation

• Pumpkins are heavy feeders. Regular treatments of manure or compost mixed with water will sustain good growth.
• Fertilize on a regular basis. Use a high nitrogen formula in early plant growth. Fertilize when plants are about one foot tall, just before vines begin to run. Switch over to a fertilizer high in phosphorous just before the blooming period.
• When considering fertilizer we really like Organic Osmocote. It is time released, which makes it almost impossible to over fertilize or burn a young plant. Another fertilizer we have used with good success is Dr. Earth. One other secret in our arsenal is Organic Preen. It is a bit pricey, but can save hours and hours of weeding.

Weeding

• A few weeds is not a problem. A lot of weeds can be a big problem. Weeds directly compete with your pumpkin plant for water and for nutrients in the soil. Some weeds also can be a host for diseases or bug populations.
• A product you can use after your pumpkin seedling sprouts and has 5 leaves is called Organic Preen. When applied around your plant it can keep additional weeds from germinating. You can also apply compost around your plant to discourage weeds. Be sure that your compost is fine, as large chunks like wood bark can serve as a home for pill bugs (sowbugs), earwigs, four line beetles and other unwanted pests.
• If you have lots of weeds, it is time to get the hoe out. Once the vine starts to grow in size, the large leaves help to shade out small weeds that may germinate later.

Pests and diseases management: Pumpkins

1. Diseases

Powdery mildew: a white powder-like bacteria, is the most common disease problem. Powdery mildew thrives in hot, humid weather, just as your pumpkin is really getting big. Plant disease spreads rapidly, and will quickly kill the plant. Downy mildew first shows itself as yellow or light green patches on your leaves. The bottom of the leaves will have a gray fuzzy mildew developing. These patches will turn black and the leaf will die.

Symptoms of powdery Mildew on pumpkin leaves and  leave bottom.

Bacterial Wilt:- This disease is evident by a wilting and browning of the leaves. Sometimes the leaves will firm up at the end of the day, only to repeat itself the next morning, and get worse each time.

Pictures which highlight the symptoms of Bacterial Wilt on pumpkin

Disease prevention

The best defensive measures to help avoid this and other disease problems include:-

Water only in the morning or during the day. Avoid late afternoon and evening. Powdery Mildew and other diseases thrive in humid weather. Watering at night adds fuel to the fire. When you water in the morning, the sun quickly dries the leaves. Watering at night leaves moisture on the leaves for the entire evening and early morning period. On warm nights, wet leaves are an ideal growing place for Powdery Mildew.

Water only to the roots and vines: If you apply water with a soaker hose, the leaves do not receive the additional moisture that promotes growth of diseases. Place the soaker hose facing down. This also minimizes water on the leaves.

Apply sprays to control diseases before they get started: A fungicide disease spray can save the pumpkin crop from this problem. Start applying disease control sprays early and before disease occurs. If your pumpkin patch is already infested, apply it right away. If caught soon enough, the plants should recover. Although affected leaves will not look any better. Plant disease can occur on the top and bottom of leaves, on the leaf stem and on the vines. Apply fungicide to all parts of the plant.

Remove diseased plants from the garden. Do not turn diseased plants into the soil or compost them. Diseases can over-winter either in the soil or in your compost pile. It then re-infests this years’ crop.Compost piles sometimes do not get hot enough to kill bacteria. Toss diseased plants out in the trash, or send them to your local lawn waste re-cycling center.

2, Pests

The most common pests on pumpkin fields are:-

Rabbits: Rabbits like the tender leaves and growing tips, as well as new, small fruits. They are controlled by hunting, trapping, repellents and fencing or pest netting.

Mice and Moles: these pests burrow under the planting field, disturbing the roots. Mice and Moles can be controlled by traps and rat/mouse poisons.

Squirrels and Chipmunks: Squirrels and Chipmunks attack pumpkin seeds. They gnaw through the pumpkin fruit and extract the seeds. Hot pepper sprays should keep them away from ripe fruit. Spray often, and after each rain. Squirrels and chipmunks can be controlled by traps and poisons.

Woodchuck:- Their diet includes tasty, ripe (and almost ripe) fruit. Hunting and trapping are your only effective methods of controlling woodchucks.

We have other four main pests:

Cucumber beetles, four line bugs, squash beetles and aphids.

Striped Cucumber Beetles: They are very bold, can be very prolific and do a lot of damage in a short period of time. Their favorite things to munch on are new bright yellow blossoms and leaves.

Striped Cucumber Beetles eating young pumpkin leaves

Four Line Beetles: they eat the plant tissue and can kill young plants.

Squash Bugs: they look like they are wearing mini armor and have a shield shape on their backs. They are usually a grayish black color with orange edges. They can dart and hide really quickly.

Aphids: the first indication you may have of an infestation is that the tender young leaves start curling. Upon close inspection you will see thousands of these tiny insects sucking the sap from the back side of the leaves. They can do a lot of damage to female blossoms too, and decimate the emerging fruit.

For aphid control in a small garden you can use a strong spray of water. It dislodges the aphids and somehow disrupts their organized ravaging campaign. This intermission usually gives our lady bugs a chance to catch up.

If you have a small garden you can control most beetles and larger bugs by picking them off the vines one by one and dropping them into a coffee can or jar filled with soapy water and ammonia.

Aphids on pumpkin blossom and leaves

To help lower populations, in the fall we compost or till under plant material so the beetles don’t have a protected spot to over-winter. We also keep our fence lines clean and weed populations hoed or mowed. We plant rows of sunflowers near the pumpkin patch to work as an attractant crop. We time it so the sunflowers bloom a little in advance to the pumpkins. The cucumber beetles flock to the bright yellow sunflower heads. If the population is low they will tend to stay on the sunflowers and you won’t see a lot of damage to your pumpkin crop.

You may have to resort to a pesticide. We try to use eco friendly organic products such as those made by Dr. Earth

Harvesting: Pumpkins

• Leave the fruit on the vine as long as possible.
• Examine the pumpkin fruit every few days to see if it is still growing
• The pumpkin fruit should not be harvested until the skin has reached full color and has hardened.
• Use a sharp knife to cut off the stem at the vine. Be careful not to damage the vine, if there are more pumpkins still on it. A good pumpkin has a good stem. Do not carry the pumpkin by the stem. Carry the pumpkin out of the field by holding it in the palms of your hands.
• Wash the pumpkin properly before storage.

Post harvest Management: Pumpkins

Storage

Pumpkins can normally be stored for 30 – 90 days. For long term storage, wash the pumpkins in a very mild chlorine solution. Use one cup of chlorine to one gallon of water. This will destroy bacterias which may cause the fruit to rot. Allow the pumpkin to dry completely and store the pumpkin in a cool, dry and dark place. Avoid hot and humid places, even if storing for only a couple of weeks. Pumpkins are best stored on a board or piece of cardboard. Do not store the fruit on a cement floor, as they tend to rot.