Fall Harvest of Pumpkins
actually a small sugar pumpkin that was eaten while still green and immature, like a zucchini. Cheese Pumpkins (C.moschata) really do resemble a wheel of cheese. You may see Landreth Cheese and Mammoth Cheese listed in catalogs. The outside of cheese pumpkins is usually some shade of tan, but they have a beautiful salmony-orange flesh. The fruit is usually medium sized, 10-15 lbs, but the vines are extensive. They were popularly used for making pumpkin butter, since the fruits did not store well.
Pumpkins can be direct seeded in the garden, once temperature stay above 70 degrees F. However many types require a long growing season and you'll get a better harvest if you start your seeds indoors a few weeks early. Give them plenty of room, 3-4 feet or more between plants. While squashes love heat, mulching around the roots will help you conserve water and prevent the plants from wilting during hot days.
Pumpkins seem to incur less problems than other squash. They may still be a target for vine borers, squash bugs, bacterial wilt, mosaic virus and fungal diseases. If this should happen, treat them as you would any other squash. Varieties within the same species will cross pollinate and need to be separated by at least a quarter mile, if you are not using some sort of isolation technique. Allow the fruits to completely mature before collecting seed.
Pumpkins are very popular in the home garden and you'll find no shortage of help online. Pumpkin Nook : Everything about pumpkins, growing, Halloween, recipes, facts, history, fun and games and more! is pretty much just that. Some great Extension fact sheets can be found at Pumpkins and More , from the University of Illinois, Growing Squash And Pumpkins In The Home Garden , from Ohio University and Growing Pumpkins and Winter Squash , from North Carolina State University. And if you absolutely insist on having the largest pumpkin on the block, How To Grow Atlantic Giant Pumpkins will help you achieve your goal.