Q: I’m the leader of a local elementary school, and we’d like to plant pumpkins in our school’s vegetable garden. Any advice?

A: What a great idea! Pumpkins can take anywhere from three to four months to grow from seed, so I recommend that the students get on this soon!

Buy good quality seeds from a nursery, or plant ones you saved from a pumpkin from last year. Soaking them first is optional, but if you choose to, soak them in lukewarm water for about 6 hours before planting. This can help speed up the germination process. Seeds don’t need to be buried very deeply at all. Use good, rich garden soil and incorporate compost or manure if you’re able.

A couple of tips for planting them. Mound the dirt slightly before poking the seeds in there. This ensures the soil will drain well. And, space the seeds about three feet apart. You can plant them more closely to ensure you get enough of them to germinate, but then you’ll have to ‘thin them out’, which is just removing the ones too close to one another. Fertilize once the seedling has more than two leaves, and enjoy watching them grow! The vines will take up a lot of room, so keep that in mind if they’re growing near other crops.

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