The vines will die, and the fruit can rot in the garden if you expose your plants to heavy frost. Although they are referred to as winter squash, they cannot tolerate a hard frost. Regardless of the ripeness of your pumpkins, you’ll want to be sure to harvest them before the first frost, whether that occurs in fall or early winter. As mentioned above, be mindful of the days to harvest the variety you chose, and if this aligns with the signs of the vines dying back, usually the end of summer or early fall, then your winter squash is just about ready to be picked. You’ll know your pumpkin harvest is close when the vines begin to die back in the garden. They usually start green and then slowly ripen to their final color. After successful pollination, you will see tiny pumpkins begin to swell at the base of the female flower. The pollen from the male flower must be moved to a female flower for the fruit set to occur. Like the other members of this family, pumpkins have separate male and female flowers. Their large yellow squash blossoms resemble those of zucchini, butternut, acorn squash, and other members of the Cucurbita pepo family. About halfway to maturity, the plant will begin to flower. Generally speaking, pumpkins are ready to harvest with a sharp knife in about 90-120 days. Several different stages of pumpkin growth occur before the time to pick pumpkins. From the time you harvest pumpkins, to the time you cure pumpkins, there are some gardening tips you can follow. Aside from those specific indicators that depend on variety and type, there are a few general rules of thumb to follow for all pumpkins. Once you’ve chosen which variety of pumpkin to grow it’s important to check the seed packet for specific info on its mature size, color, and days to harvest. When To Harvest Pumpkins Pumpkins still growing can look very close to done but not be hardened yet. When choosing the variety you want to grow keep in mind that there are many different types of pumpkins ranging from pie pumpkins, jack o lanterns, miniature pumpkins like Jack Be Little, and even types that can grow to weigh over 100 pounds such as Big Max. Harvesting pumpkins is fun too!Īlthough growing pumpkins may be easy, there are a few things to know when you harvest pumpkins to make sure that you get the most out of your crop. They can also be planted on the edge of the garden or corner of a raised bed and allowed to trail over the side freely. They make a great choice for a parkway or devil’s strip where you may want to suppress weeds, but not invest a lot of time tending to the landscape. Pumpkins make a great beginner gardener crop as they’re easy to grow, and prolific producers when given enough space to sprawl.
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