Get growing

Pumpkin
Plant now for the Halloween harvest
- Super tasty and super healthy and super fun to grow.
- Choose between a giant kind for carving into a lantern or a more tasty variety (which often look a little weird!)
- Plant. Wait for Halloween season. That’s it.
- The super-healthy seeds are even delicious toasted.
Complete growing directions
- Buy a young plant. Choose between a giant kind for carving into a lantern or a more tasty variety (which often look a little weird!)
- Hint: make sure the frosts are over in your area before planting as frost kills young pumpkins.
- Plant them directly into the soil about 3 feet apart in the garden. Water and wait!
- Grow your pumpkins on to maturity and only harvest after the leaves have started to wither and crisp.
- Remove your pumpkins with a short length of stem and leave them out in the sun or in a shed to dry out, so that the skin hardens.
Watering
- The easiest way to tell if something needs watering is with your finger: poke it into the soil to test.
- If the soil is damp just under the surface, don't water. If it is dry up to the first crease of your finger then you need to water.
- Seeds and seedlings need care when watering – use a fine-head watering can so you don't over-water them.
- It is better to water well infrequently than to sprinkle a little every day.
Compost
Check out Compost Made Simple for all your composting needs and know-how.

All about Pumpkin
- Plant: Late May–June
- Harvest: September–October
- Container: The ground
- Location: Garden
- What to sow: Plant