How to Keep Pumpkins During a Frost

Growing pumpkins in an area with a shorter growing season doesn't have to mean a small crop. You can extend the season a little bit by protecting them from light frosts with floating row covers. Row covers will keep your pumpkins safe in early spring and fall when the risk of frosts would ordinarily mean risking young seedlings and maturing pumpkins respectively. Row covers can be used to cover any crop at both ends of the growing season.

Things You'll Need

• Straw mulch
• Row cover
• Four spring clamps

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Place straw mulch around your pumpkin patch. Mulch will retain moisture but more importantly help keep the soil around the plants warmer.

   • 2

     Position a row cover frame over the pumpkin patch so that it will cover over all of the pumpkin plants. The frame rests on the soil and is similar to a miniature greenhouse.

   • 3

     Spread out the cover material over the cover frame and draw it tight. Secure the ends with spring clamps, two on each end of the row cover.