How to Plant Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkins can be a great addition to many gardens. Kids love to grow pumpkins, getting to watch their Halloween jack-o-lantern emerge from a seed. Planting pumpkin seeds does take a little planning, largely because the plants can spread a great deal as they grow. Once you choose your seeds, you are ready to plant. Read on to learn how to plant pumpkin seeds.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Choose a sunny spot to plant the pumpkin seeds. The spot should get at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. You can also prepare the soil by using compost, manure or fish emulsion to the area. Pumpkins can be heavy "eaters" so adding extra nutrients helps with their growth.

2. Soak the seeds overnight if possible before planting. This softens the outer shell of the seed and makes the seed sprout more quickly.

3. Start the pumpkin seeds inside if you live in a colder climate. Otherwise you can put them directly into the soil once the temperature during the day is reaching 70 degrees or more regularly and the spring rains have passed.

4. Mound up hills of dirt that are about 3 feet in diameter with a moat around the mound to keep water near the roots. The hills should be placed about 10 feet or so apart from each other. Alternatively, you can create rows to plant the seeds in if this suits your garden better. With each, you'll want to keep plant spacing in mind.

5. Place around five seeds in a circle on the top of each mound. The seeds should be around 6 to 8 inches apart. Cover the seeds with about an inch of soil to keep the birds from getting them. Water very gently in the beginning and make sure not to disturb the covering soil.

6. Prune the plants several weeks after they have sprouted, leaving two to three strong, healthy plants on each mound. This will help the remaining plants get more nutrients and have more space to grow.