How to Propagate Pumpkins

Direct Seeding

• 1

  Till the garden soil in the spring to a depth of at least 8 inches. Pulverize the soil until it is light and airy; remove large stones and break up clods.

• 2

  Spread a layer of compost over the growing area. Till or rake in the compost until it is incorporated into the soil. Refrain from walking on the prepared planting area.

• 3

  Hill up the prepared soil where you will plant pumpkins using hand tools, making a small trench around each hill as you move the soil. Hills should be 8 to 10 inches higher than the original soil level to help provide good drainage. Space hills 4 to 6 feet apart depending on the size of the pumpkin you are growing.

• 4

  Plant four to six pumpkin seeds per hill 1 inch deep and about 5 inches apart in a circle on the hill. Gently tamp down the soil to cover the seeds. After the seeds germinate, and two or three true leaves unfold in about 10 to 12 days, thin to the strongest two plants in each hill.

From Seedlings

• 5

  Fill 8-inch or larger starter pots with potting soil or compost about four to six weeks before the last expected frost date in your area.

• 6

  Plant two to three pumpkin seeds 1 inch deep in each starter pot. Water the pots and place them in a warm place with no drafts. Use a seed-starting electric heat mat to help provide a consistent soil temperature, if desired. Germination should occur in seven to 10 days.

• 7

  Provide the pots with eight to 10 hours of bright light daily. Use electric plant lights, if necessary, to simulate the proper day-length. Thin the seedlings to the strongest two in each pot when true leaves appear.

• 8

  Transplant the seedlings to prepared garden soil when the soil has warmed. Plant one pot per hill, with hills spaced 3 feet apart.

From Cuttings

• 9

  Take cuttings in the fall from an established, producing pumpkin vine. The most viable cuttings are at nodes where the vine has contacted the soil and roots have developed. A long section of pumpkin vine may have several rooted nodes. Look for rooted nodes that have secondary growth terminals, or new vines beginning to grow as a new “branch” of the original vine.

• 10

  Dig the roots at each node to loosen the section of vine. Cut the loosened vine from the plant with sharp pruners.

• 11

  Cut the rooted nodes apart with pruners. Cut the vine into sections with a rooted node in each section. Do not to disturb the new growth terminals at the rooted nodes. The growth terminals will become new pumpkin vines.

• 12

  Plant the rooted nodes in 12-inch pots filled with potting soil or compost. Water them enough to keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Old leaves may wither within the first few days, but the new growth terminals will soon take over.