Growing a Pumpkin Patch on Your Homestead

Pumpkins are a beloved staple in many homestead gardens, offering a bounty of versatile produce that can be used for cooking, decorating, and even livestock feed. They store well and may be our pigs’ and tortoise’s favorite treat! Not to mention, it’s a great way to create community by hosting a Fall Festival. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or a novice, cultivating a thriving pumpkin patch is a rewarding project. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to grow your own pumpkin patch successfully.

Choosing the Right Pumpkin Variety

Before planting, it’s important to select the right pumpkin variety for your needs and climate. Pumpkins come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. Here are some popular types:

• Miniature: Great for decorations and small spaces.
• Pie: Ideal for pies and sweet recipes, smaller and sweeter.
• Carving: Perfect for carving and medium-sized for cooking.
• Giant: For competitions or impressive displays, but they require more space.

Here’s a link to a variety of pumpkin seeds off of Amazon to get you started!

Check your local growing conditions to ensure the variety you choose will thrive in your climate. Pumpkins tend to love the heat, and living in a desert, we’re blessed to have plenty of it.

We personally chose 10 different types, several of each variety, so we can create a community Pumpkin Patch to celebrate the Fall. Some pumpkins will be decorative, others for homemade pumpkin pie, some for Halloween carving, others for animal feed, and best of all, we hope to grow a several hundred pound giant pumpkin as a personal challenge and goal! If you’d like to try your hand at growing an 800 pound pumpkin, you can get some Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds here. We are working with our dear friend Tony Sarah, former nursery manager and horticulturist, who founded Earth’s Original Organics and creates the most incredible organic fertilizer known to mankind: Tony’s Magic Mix and Tony’s Magic Flower. Tony is working closely with us, like our own personal Mr. Miyagi-like sensei of plants, teaching us the art of proper fertilization for optimal plant and flower growth. You can follow him on Facebook here.

Preparing the Soil

Pumpkins prefer rich, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8. We started with a barren wasteland of cement-like caliche and weeds, but were able to improve our soil over time with a free wood chip drop from a local arborist, which we allowed to decompose over the years. Additionally, we flood irrigate, which really softened up the earth. We recently graded the land and tilled all the organic matter in, which gave us a great base to work with. Unfortunately, it was covered in grass and weeds though, which can compete for nutrients.

Planting Your Pumpkins

Choose a Sunny Location: Pumpkins need full sun, so select a site that gets at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily.

Clear Weeds: Weeds can compete for valuable nutrients in the soil. Do your best to remove weeds and grasses prior to planting.

Creating Mounds & Amending Soil: We purchased Hula Hoops from the dollar store and laid them out in a row on the ground. We dug holes within these circles 12 inches deep, being certain to pick out any grass roots. We added some of this native soil to a wheel barrow. We used equal parts sphagnum peat moss, topsoil, Happy Frog soil and combined 4 to 5 cups of Tony’s Magic Mix. Mixing all of this together in the wheel barrow, we then dumped it back into the hole and created a gently sloping, volcano shaped mound about 5 inches tall. We repeated this process creating 3 rows of 8 mounds. We will continue adding Tony’s Magic Mix through the growing season as necessary, and add Tony’s Magic Flower to promote the development of the actual pumpkins. You can purchase some of Tony’s amazing fertilizer here.

Spacing: Give your pumpkins plenty of room to grow. Space the mounds of soil about 4-6 feet apart for smaller varieties and 6-10 feet for larger types. We left 10 feet between rows.

Timing: Pumpkins are sensitive to frost and need warm soil to germinate.

Sow Seeds Directly: Plant pumpkin seeds directly into the ground when the soil temperature is at least 70°F. Each hill should have 2-6 seeds planted 1 inch deep. We are growing ours right as the desert monsoon season is about to start. It is extremely hot out, but the timing will allow us to harvest our pumpkins during the Fall Season, in time for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Watering: Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged. Deep, infrequent watering encourages deep root growth. Avoid getting water on the leaves to prevent disease. We are watering our pumpkins with a soaker hose on a timer, and are also supplementing twice a month with flood irrigation, which will provide deep watering.

Caring for Your Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkins are relatively low-maintenance but do require regular care.

Fertilizing: Feed your pumpkins with a balanced fertilizer high in nitrogen when the vines begin to run; we highly recommend Tony’s Magic Mix. Switch to a fertilizer high in phosphorus and potassium once the flowers start to form to encourage fruit development; we highly recommend Tony’s Magic Flower.

Weeding: Keep your pumpkin patch weed-free to reduce competition for nutrients and water. Hand-pulling weeds is often the best method.

Pollination

Pumpkins produce both male and female flowers. Bees and other pollinators are essential for transferring pollen from male to female flowers. To encourage pollination:

Plant Pollinator-Friendly Flowers: Surround your pumpkin patch with flowers that attract bees. We chose a variety of Cosmos flowers, which pair very well with pumpkins!

Avoid Pesticides: Refrain from using pesticides that can harm beneficial insects. We are planting a variety of enormous sunflowers, which attract pests that attack pumpkins. The goal is, to draw the pests away from our pumpkins by keeping them busy with our resilient sunflowers.

Harvesting Your Pumpkins

Pumpkins are ready to harvest when they have reached their full color and the rind is hard. Follow these tips:

Timing: Most pumpkins mature in 75-110 days.

Cutting: Use a sharp knife or pruners to cut the pumpkin from the vine, leaving a few inches of stem attached to extend storage life.

Curing: Cure pumpkins in a warm, dry, and sunny location for about 10 days to toughen the skin and improve storage.

Storing and Using Your Pumpkins

Store pumpkins in a cool, dry place with good air circulation. They can last for several months if properly cured and stored. Pumpkins can be used in numerous ways:

Culinary: Make pies, soups, and breads. We’ll be sure to share some recipes during harvest season, so stay tuned!

Decorative: Use for Fall displays and Halloween carving.

Livestock Feed: Feed the flesh and seeds to chickens, pigs, tortoises and other animals.

Seeds: Save to plant again or roast for a tasty treat!

Growing a pumpkin patch on your homestead is a fulfilling endeavor that yields a versatile and abundant harvest. With proper planning and care, you’ll enjoy the fruits of your labor throughout the Fall and beyond. Return to our Farm Blog for updates on our Pumpkin Patch during the growing season, and come join us for our Fall Festival when they’re done growing. In the meantime, happy gardening!