How to Plant Giant Pumpkins

Giant pumpkins can be grown in home gardens.

Many giant pumpkin growers guard secret fertilizer recipes, arcane planting methods or even suggest feeding a pumpkin plant milk. But there is no secret to growing a giant pumpkin --- just a few tried-and-true methods. With the appropriate preparation, growing such a monster vegetable is surprisingly simple. The most difficult job will be moving the pumpkin, and friends and family will be pleased with an enormous orange jack-o-lantern from your backyard.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Compost
• Giant pumpkin seeds
• 12-inch peat pots
• Seed-starting mix
• Balanced fertilizer
• Water-based fertilizer
• Spray bottle
• Cardboard

Instructions

1. Clear a 50- to 100-square-foot garden area for each pumpkin plant. Work compost into the soil with a shovel to a depth of 12 inches until a rich, dark soil is produced. Create a low, 2-foot-wide hill in the center of each area.

2. 

   Always read seed packets before buying, as not every pumpkin variety is a giant.

   Start the seeds indoors in peat pots 10 to 14 days before the last frost date. The extra growing time translates into extra size at the end of the season. Plant the seeds 1-inch deep in a seed-starting mix. When planting directly in the garden, plant the seeds 3 to 5 per hill.

3. Transplant the seedlings into the garden after the last frost date, if the seeds were started indoors. Choose the strongest plant per hill and remove the others after the seedlings develop three leaves.

4. 

   Prune out extra flowers as they appear.

   Feed the plant a balanced fertilizer, per label instructions, when it forms vines. When pumpkins form, remove all but the largest three per vine and pinch out all other flowers. Remove the two smallest pumpkins when they reach 6 inches in diameter, keeping only the largest pumpkin per vine.

5. Spray the plant with a water-based foliar fertilizer or add compost roughly every 14 days, per label instructions. Place a cardboard square under the growing pumpkin to prevent insect damage and to ensure the stem has adequate room to move as the pumpkin grows larger. Water regularly, at least 1 inch per week, and much more if conditions are dry, hot or windy.

6. 

   Rotate the young pumpkin to prevent flat sides.

   Shade the pumpkin as it grows above the leaves. Sunlight hardens the rind prematurely, preventing growth. Cut the stem with a sharp blade when the it becomes dry or a hard frost is expected. Leave at least 2 inches of stem.

Tips & Warnings

• Pumpkins have shallow roots and quickly decline under drought stress. Provide a soaker hose or other slow-watering method.

• Save the seeds from your largest pumpkin and allow them to dry. Although pumpkins and squash will cross-pollinate, these seeds may produce next year's giant.

• Not every pumpkin variety produces giants. Seeds from the tiny "Jack Be Little" pumpkin never grow into a 300-pound giant, so start the garden off right with a large variety such as "Prizewinner" or "Dill's Atlantic Giant."

References

• Ohio State University; Growing Giant Pumpkins in the Home Garden; David A. Mangione; 1994
• Oregon State University; How to Grow a Monster Pumpkin; Carol Savonen, et al.
• University of Illinois Extension: Pumpkins and More

Resources

• North Dakota State University; Questions on Pumpkins; Ron Smith