Popular this time of year in décor and festive dishes, pumpkins are one of the favorite symbols of the fall season. Pumpkins provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in a variety of sweet and savory dishes. As a member of the Cucurbitaceae squash family, pumpkins are botanically speaking a fruit but classified as a vegetable from a culinary perspective.
To grow your own pumpkin patch, below are a few tips to get you started:
- Find a full sun site with plenty of space for sprawling vines.
- Get your soil tested in the fall prior to planting to ensure pH and fertility requirements have been met.
- Pumpkin is a warm season crop. Plant seeds in mid-to late June, depending on the variety, for an early October harvest.
- Plant seeds in small hills (raising the soil up a few inches into a small mound) with at least 8 feet of space on all sides.
- Pumpkins will need plenty of water, fertilizer, and mulch throughout the growing season.
- Like other cucurbits, the first flowers produced by the plant are male. These flowers are to attract bees to the vines to alert them to a flowering plant in the area. When female flowers are produced, pollen transfer is more successful as pollinators already have an established route for pollen collection and transfer.
A few pumpkin facts:
- Illinois leads the country in pumpkin production, at nearly 533 million pounds produced in 2025.
- All parts of the pumpkin can be eaten: the skin, leaves, flowers, pulp, seeds, and stems (when young). Check out https://extension.illinois.edu/pumpkins/preserving-pumpkin for some tips on preserving pumpkins.
- Healthy pumpkins, uncarved or unblemished, can last for several months inside your home.
- Decaying organic matter in landfills produces methane as it decomposes without oxygen. Consider composting your pumpkin to help keep them out of landfills and reduce methane production.
For more information about growing pumpkins, including varieties to try in Georgia, check out our Homegrown Pumpkins publication at https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/C1206/homegrown-pumpkins/
Kim Toal, is the Fayette County Extension Coordinator and Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources. For additional information about Fayette County Extension, please call our office at 770-305-5412 or check out our website at https://extension.uga.edu/fayette.
