How to Grow a Giant Pumpkin

Remember the first time you laid eyes on a giant pumpkin? This could be your year.

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Remember the first metre you laid oculus on a giant pumpkin ? It may have been at a average or a farm , but you were in awe , and secretly you ’ve always want to grow one of your own .

This could be your class . This could be the summer that a 2,000 - pound behemoth of a pumpkin vine — thoroughgoing with bragging right — sits proudly in your vegetable garden . This year , it ’ll beyourpumpkin that makes eyes pop and mouths free fall .

I ’m bring this up in the dead of wintertime because this is the fourth dimension to buy seeds and set about plan and gathering clandestine selective information on growing disc - get out pumpkins . ( By the agency , if a jumbo - pumpkin competition is in your time to come , consider take a crane and forklift at the ready . )

Giant Genetics

The true statement is that the most important part of the devil - squash rackets equation is in the genes . Planting pumpkin vine seed that have a genic sensitivity to hugeness is cardinal . The pumpkin variety that dominates , as far as world records go , is Dill ’s Atlantic Giant . So start with Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds either from a seed catalogue or a local baby’s room .

After that , it ’s a savvy grower ’s game . Seasoned autumn pumpkin growers have some well - guarded secrets , and your job is to uncover those enigma . Try payoff .

Start Early and Prepare the Bed

In ordering to take full advantage of the mature time of year , it ’s best to bug out your autumn pumpkin seeds indoors a few weeks before the last frost appointment in your area . While your seed are germinating inside , you may prepare the Cucurbita pepo bed out of doors .

pick out a dapple that pick up 8 to 10 hours of full sun , and add as muchcompostand composted manure that you’re able to to the grime in the bed . Monstrous veggies call for big nutrients , so add as much organic matter as potential . An idealistic soil pH for pumpkins is between 6.5 and 6.8 .

veteran Giant Pumpkin Growers Tip : Don’t wait until late wintertime or other spring to prepare your Cucurbita pepo seam . gear up the space in thefall — months before you plant . In this font , you may pack compost and composted manure in the layer . Cover it with pale yellow or wet paper ( six sheets deep ) . Let it compost in place all wintertime long .

Pollination—Making Baby Pumpkins

Plant your pumpkin seedlings into the prepared bed , and water them regularly for about 8 to 10 weeks . When the plants start bloom , you ’ll find that there are both female flowers and male flower . The distaff blossom are the ones with the footling “ pumpkin ” behind the blossom ( nottrulya pumpkin yet but could be if it is pollinated ) .

The preferably a pumpkin forms and begins to grow , the longer it has to become the goliath of your dreams , so you do n’t want to knock off one day by expect for natural pollenation to take place . These beefy guys can benefit up to 25 pounds a day !

Your best wager is tohand - pollinatethe flowers yourself . Early one sunrise , select an openmaleflower . Pick it off the vine , and force off the outer flower petal . What you ’ll have left is the stamen with fresh pollen on it . Find an openfemaleflower , and gently brush the inside of the female flower with the stamen of the male blossom .

Choose the Contenders

When your pumpkin vine get going to form , look for the one that ’s very round , long , and get the quick . You ’ll know which one this is by measuring around the largest part of each Cucurbita pepo . This will be your pick out giant pumpkin vine because it will be the one that becomes the braggy in your pumpkin patch . Growers often keep thebiggest two or threejust in case something goes wrong along the way .

You ’ll ask to adjudicate which to keep ( only a few at most ) and prune off the residuum . It ’s a brutal but necessary project if you ’re run for a plunder - sizedpumpkin . While the pumpkin vine are produce , keep the end of the vines pruned to about 8 to 10 human foot beyond the autumn pumpkin . This path the growth energy is spend on the pumpkin sizing as oppose to vine distance .

Seasoned Giant - Pumpkin Growers Tip : The position of the vine as they colligate to the pumpkin ’s base is very important . As it set about heavy and heavier , if the stalk is at the awry angle , the pumpkin vine will snap off . Ideally , you want the stem to be perpendicular to the vine it ’s grow on .

Feed the Giant

Fertilize your pumpkins once or twice a week , but avoid overfertilizing them . If pumpkins arefertilizedtoomuch , it ’s possible they could pull away from the vine early — and in effect , blow up !

Once the pumpkins grow to 5 to 10 pounds , be certain to come in a large plank ( like plywood ) underneath them so they wo n’t moulder on the side that ’s against the soil . At the end of the develop season , you may find that you have a competitor for a largest - pumpkin contest . Look for an result near you , like the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh - Off in Half Moon Bay , California .

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The truth is that the most important part of the monster-squash equation is in the genes.Photo by Nick Ares under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

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