Structure for Pumpkins to Grow on

Pole Teepee

• Use sturdy saplings, bamboo stalks, steel rods and purchased poles to make vine teepees. Lash them together at the top with strong twine or leather boot strings. Add compost or 10-10-10 fertilizer to the soil completely around the teepee. Plant seeds or transplant seedlings at the base of each pole. Gently direct vines to the nearest pole. Tie the vine loosely to the pole with twine. Tendrils reach out to grab the nearest object. Attach twine to each pole to give tendrils something to wrap around. Prune each plant to two vines per pole. Remove all but two pumpkins from each vine to avoid too much weight on the teepee.

Cattle Panel

• Cattle panels look like lattice made of galvanized metal rods welded together at 6-inch spaces. Choose a width to fit your space, as these panels are not easily cut to size. Arch cattle panels over raised beds for a structure kids will enjoy sitting under. Attach each end of the panel to opposite ends of a raised bed frame using a U clamp. Allow 1 foot of space between the frame and the panel to give the plants enough room to grow. Direct vines over the panel. Check pumpkins daily to be sure they are growing below or on top of the cattle panel. Place a board beneath pumpkins growing on top of the panel so that they don't grow around the wire. Cattle panels are found in farm supply stores.

Twine

• Twine works well for tiny pumpkins such as "Jack-Be-Little" and "Baby Boo." Create shade on your back porch by tying twine through eye hooks at the top and bottom of the porch. Plant one transplant or two seeds at the base of each length of twine. Thin seedlings to the best plant when they have four true leaves. Attach the vines using tomato trellis clips every 12 to 18 inches. Twine and tomato trellis clips are available in hardware and farm supply stores and seed catalogs.

Trellis

• Use lattice for an attractive, sturdy trellis. Weave vines through the spaces to have pumpkins growing on both sides. Anchor sheets of lattice to a solid structure or lean them against a wall at a sharp angle. Polypropylene netting makes a convenient trellis. String it between stakes or hang it from the top board of the porch, barn or garden shed. Assembling a simple trellis from stakes and twine is inexpensive and takes about an hour. Pound the stakes 18 inches into the soil at 3-foot intervals. Tie the twine to the first stake and weave it between stakes, wrapping it twice around each stake.