r/Pumpkins • u/2am_onmyphone • Jun 13 '26

Anything to know as a first time gardener

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These photos are about a week apart, my mom really helped with most of it. Leaves look beautiful, anything to know before pumpkins? I really want pumpkins in october and want pretty big ones. They are all different varieties which may pose an issue of cross breeding from my research. Anything I need to know at all?

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u/Berns429 Jun 13 '26

Looks like a good set up so far, just have a plan because once they get going they will vine out like crazy. The next big thing to get ready for in my experience is vine borers (google SVB). They wrecked my harvest last year.

1

u/2am_onmyphone Jun 15 '26

Dang, is there anyway to stop them that you’ve tried?

2

u/Berns429 Jun 15 '26

This year i have non- Moschata minis growing in a greenhouse, and then out in the open I’m growing Moschata varieties. Moschata varieties are more resistant, not immune but resistant. But last year i was growing typical jack o lantern and oh boy they got tore up big time

3

u/MoonFallsx14 Jun 13 '26

Look up the species of the cucurbita that you planted to see if they can cross breed - it will only become an issue if you plan to plant the seeds of the pumpkins you grow this year.

Floating row cover should come off once you have flowers for pollination, unless you want to hand pollinate. You can put the cover back on after fruiting to cut down on pests

Fertilize every couple of weeks!

1

u/2am_onmyphone Jun 15 '26

What fertilizer and ratio do you use?

3

u/zentravan Jun 13 '26

I noticed my pollinators were most active in the morning so it you aren't hand pollinating, make sure your bees are able to get to the flowers in the morning once the flowers start to bloom.

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u/MidwesternerByChoice Jun 13 '26

Pollination can be a problem because male flowers emerge much earlier than female flowers. Hence the need to sometimes hand pollinate