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portland,OR,USA

this is my first year growing a guiant pumpkin
i dont want a SUPER large one,200 and the smallest 400 at the largest..can you guys give some tips..like the soil prep size and basic things like that...Thanks

11/1/2009 1:43:18 AM

Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

We grew a 225 lb pumpkin a few years back, growing out of our flower bed. The prepared soil area was only about 3' x 5'. The plant just basically grew out on the lawn. We didn't bury any vines, just kept it watered and controlled the bugs and the mildew.

I would suggest prepping your area like you would to grow a big one, with a good application of manure or compost. Choose a seed that will produce good shape and colour, because it sounds like that's what you want. Plant it out a little later, to prevent all stress, say May 24th. don't let the vines crawl all over each other, train and prune to fill your patch area and bury what you can. keep the soil moist all season and control the bugs and mildew...You don't need to add any of the other "stuff", it will grow to what you want all on its own.

11/1/2009 8:45:04 AM

Dillsburg, PA

Here is what I did to get some smaller ones to give away. I planted the seed about 6 feet apart. Cut off every side vine and only kept the main vine. Buried the vine to get more of a root system. Let the first pumpkin on the main vine pollinate and cut the vine at around 10 ft. I planted 4 plants like this and got 4 that were between 200-400lbs. Or you can grow a regular sized plant and let everything pollinate on it.

11/1/2009 12:22:24 PM