How to Grow & Store Pumpkins

Loosen the soil 8 to 10 inches deep with a rototiller.

Use a garden hoe to make rows, leaving 10 inches of space between each.

Mix 5-10-10 fertilizer with the turned soil. Apply 10 pt. to every 100-foot row.

Create hills for planting, allowing 6 feet of space between each hill.

Plant four or five pumpkin seeds, at a depth of 1 inch, in each hill. Water until the garden soil is moist, but not wet, unless rainfall is expected.

Thin the seedlings when they are 4 inches tall, leaving only the strongest two in each hill.

Water deeply during dry conditions, especially around the time that blooms and fruits are forming.

Remove weeds from around the vines and between the rows using a hoe.

Sprinkle 13-0-44 fertilizer on each side of the plants three weeks after planting. Apply approximately 1 pt. for every 100-foot row. Keep the fertilizer granules at least 6 inches away from the foliage. Work the fertilizer into the top layer of soil and water deeply. Repeat the application three weeks later.

Gather the pumpkins in early fall, after the hull is no longer pliable, but before the first hard frost of the season. Cut the pumpkins free of the vine with a sharp knife and leave 3 or 4 inches of the stem attached.

Cure the pumpkins by placing them in a well-ventilated location that maintains temperatures of 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 14 days.

Store the pumpkins in a location with temperatures of 50 to 70 degrees. Select a location that is out of direct sunlight and arrange the pumpkins in a single layer. Ideal humidity levels for storage range from 50 to 70 percent.