Plant your Halloween Pumpkin-Palooza NOW!

I am often asked in September when families should plant pumpkin seeds for Halloween pumpkin carving. It’s a great question but my answer is always shocking and sad for them.  I shout out "May", which is then met with a wave of emotion from surprise, to sadness, to utter disappointment.  I’ve seen the hashtag #pumpkinparentfail from a number of friends.

The time to change that is now!
Here are my tips to get your pumpkins planted and ready in time for tricks, treats, and fall recipes. 

Pumpkin growing isn’t that hard which is why a lot of kindergarten and 1st grade teachers send kids home with a pumpkin growing in a plastic cup. We’ve all had them growing on our counters but then we’re never sure where to go from there.  Last year, my son took charge and transplanted his growing seedling into our community garden plot and was thrilled to have pumpkins for Halloween! We were successful and deserving of a new hashtag…#pumpkinparentsuccess!
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The seeds don’t cost much and there are a lot of fun types to choose from, like Sugar-Pie, Jack O’Lantern and Baby Bear.

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Most pumpkins are mound plants, which is a little hill that needs to be in a very sunny spot. This makes them even more fun for kids to plant.  Encourage them to grab a shovel and build the mound.  We actually always have to build the mounds a couple times because we like to run up it and jump off before we actually plant the seed. It’s a great way to exercise and break up the soil pile while having fun.  If your kids are really young, grab a sand pail and make a dirt castle for your pumpkin to grow on.  

The mound is about the size of a small baseball pitcher mound.  The reason for the mound is it helps warm up the soil faster and helps the seeds sprout faster.  It also helps with drainage and pest control. So not only is it fun, it’s practical.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when planting pumpkins:

• Pumpkins require a lot of food and a long growing season, which usually has 75 to 100 frost-free days. 
  
• Pumpkins do best when the seeds are planted directly in the ground, although we have had great success when transplanting them as a school project.
• Pumpkins are sensitive to cold so don’t plant them until the soil is 70 degrees or more.  

Of course, I found out quickly the real reason my kids wanted to grow pumpkins and it’s because we do a giant pumpkin smash after Halloween.  I’ll save that messy story for another day…