How to Grow Pumpkin Seeds With Water, Salt Water, or Sugar Water

Pumpkins are a fun and easy crop that both adults and children can enjoy watching grow all summer long. After the pumpkin seeds germinate and sprout from the ground and the pumpkin vines grow larger, anticipation for the fall harvest will mount as the green pumpkins ripen. Get a packet of pumpkin seeds and show children how to grow them using water to give the seeds a head start.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Manure
• Spade
• Shovel
• Small cup
• Water
• Pumpkin seeds
• Marker or stick
• Clean jars
• Water-soluble fertilizer (10-10-10)
• Knife

1. After the last frost of the spring, dig a large hole in the growing area. Make the hole 1.5 feet deep and 2 feet across. Fill the hole with manure and then replace the soil on top of the manure to create a small hill.

2. Fill a cup with water and soak the pumpkin seeds overnight. This will give the pumpkin seeds a head start toward germination. Drain the seeds the next day to plant.

3. Put the seeds in the prepared soil, placing each seed on its side (narrow edge upward). Plant about five seeds in a circle at an interval of 6 to 8 inches. Cover the seeds with 1.5 inches of soil. Place a small marker or stick in the ground at the planting site so you know where each seed is located. Water the soil generously.

4. Watch for the seeds to emerge from the soil between one and two weeks after planting. Place a clean jar over each seedling every night to protect them from slugs. Remove the jars every morning.

5. Fertilize the seedlings by mixing the recommended amount of fertilizer with water. (Follow the instructions on the fertilizer package.) Water the seedlings generously with this mixture.

6. Watch for the pumpkin plants to begin blossoming. Determine how many pumpkins you want to harvest and leave only this number of blossoms to grow on the vines. Pinch off the other blossoms to remove them. This will enable the pumpkin vines to put all of their energies into the remaining blossoms and produce large, healthy pumpkins.

7. Encourage the pumpkins to ripen by cutting off any leaves that are shading the pumpkins. Turn the pumpkins carefully to allow all sides to receive sunlight. Place a small piece of wood between each pumpkin and the soil to protect the pumpkins from moisture and pests.

8. Harvest the pumpkins before the first frost. Pumpkins are ripe when the stems begin to crack and the outer surface of the pumpkins becomes hard. Cut the pumpkins from the stalks 1 to 2 inches above the pumpkins and leave them in the growing area for an additional week to cure and to give them time to become hard.

References

• Growing Pumpkins