Growing pumpkins in Florida does not come without challenges. Battling pest pressure, disease, and heat can make it difficult to grow a sizable fruit that can be carved or used as decoration on your porch. However, I like to think that part of the fun in gardening is experimenting with new crops and methods of growing! Follow along to set yourself up for success growing your gourd.
Pumpkins are part of the cucurbit family notably including squash, watermelon, cucumber and many other species. They have coarser flesh that is more flavorful than summer squashes with rinds that are softer at maturity than winter squashes. Pumpkins cross-pollinate readily among other pumpkins as well as squash, leading to a lot of variation within the species.
While the heat of late summer makes it hard to imagine, early July is the time to plant pumpkins in North Florida if you would like to harvest by Halloween. Although pumpkins planted in early August can still be harvested for Thanksgiving. Pumpkins require careful attention to pest pressure like the squash vine borer and are susceptible to diseases due to the heat and summer rain fall we experience in Florida.
Cucurbit species do best when they are not transplanted, so plan to direct sow your seed right where you want to plant it. Start with a few seeds in your planting hole and remove all but the strongest seedling when they are about 2-4 inches tall. Each plant will need about 6 feet in each direction spread their vines and grow. When pumpkins begin to flower you will see a flush of male flowers only at first. This ensures that when female flowers arrive there is pollen available to fertilize the oncoming fruit. If you observe female flowers dying after closing, you can transfer pollen from a male flower to a female flower with a paintbrush or by removing the male flower and bringing the pollen to the female flower. This is best done in the morning. Smaller varieties of pumpkins and gourds alike tend to do better in Florida rather than the larger Jack O’ Lantern varieties.
Larvae such as the squash vine borer are a common pest of cucurbit species, make sure to scout for signs of their eggs, frass (small yellow buildup near the stems), and entry holes to stems and fruit. Preventative applications of the biological pesticide Bt can be used to keep your fruit and plants from being eaten. Make sure to get full coverage and follow label instructions. Bt will readily rinse off in the rain so it must be reapplied frequently depending on the weather. If this great pumpkin experiment does not sound enjoyable to you or if you’ve struggled to grow traditional pumpkins in the past you can also try the Seminole pumpkin which can tolerate the temperatures much better.
1
