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Hollywood, MD

Hi guys.. I know how much room a giant pumpkin plant needs, but what about just regular "jack o lantern" pumpkins for halloween? Is a 10x10 space for each plant good or is that too big or too small? I want to reserve some space in my patch this year to grow some carving pumpkins for Halloween. Thanks.

5/4/2008 7:02:13 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

10 x 10 is plenty..we space one plant every 4 feet in 8 foot rows.

5/6/2008 1:49:13 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Regular JOL's?

Easy. I would say in a 10x10, you can get a few plants. 2' between plants, and they style I have grown them in, was actually pretty simple. Growing suggestions.

1. I took care of the soil the same way I would have for an AG (I am not the best at this, however halfway decent by AG standards is Royal treatment for a C.Pepo). They don't get as big, but if you give them good care, they will actually surprise you.
2. Put 4 plants in the 10 x 10 area, 2’ from each other, at one end of the bed.
3. I train them to grow in a single file, sort of like the train-track pruning method, but leave 1 leaf, and its subsequent node, of each secondary vine. This increase the amount of leaves, and roots, yet still saves space, as the vine will only be about 1’ wider on each side.
4. Let the plant grow all its fruit, as only the main will be getting them all if you prune in the above fashion. This is not a weight contest. 10 – 20 pounds is all they need to be. Shoot, many AG’s put that on every day, even on culls. You go out one day and see a 20 pound fruit that was not there yesterday. Never happened to me, but I have heard of a lot of the heavy hitters seeing this.
5. At ten foot, the vine will only have put on 2 or 3 females, so pollinate them the way you would an AG, but because the seeds are not as rare/valuable, and you are not keeping a pedigree line, you do not have to refrigerate males, or tie off females. Just pick a male, off any of the plant, stick in female flower, move it around, and leave it be. If a bug introduces Aunt Mary’s Zucchini pollen (I think that is C.Pepo), no big deal. You don’t have to save the seeds, which leave me to…
6. Salt the seeds you get, and they are better beer food than pretzels.

When you really think about it C.Pepo JOLs have some nice “low stress” aspects that really can make them easier on the Blood Pressure.

5/7/2008 7:47:15 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Top 10 reasons WHY to grow C.Pepos.

1. No SASBE needed to get seeds. Local nursery will have plenty of cheep seeds, even for varieties that can reach 50 pounds.
2. No Forklift needed at the end of a successful season.
3. No tears at the end of a non-successful season, just go “fork over” the $4.00 USD at the grocery store.
4. Drastically less issues with splitting, Dill rings etc…
5. Who cares if the “go light”?
6. You can grow lots of them, and let the plant grow all sets.
7. Consistent color and shape. No gambles on getting an oblong with a snout, or wheel butt, or panacake. Granted you will not get any as pretty as the 1110 Wallace, but they will still, none the less, have consistent orange color, and the only flat sides will appear on the ones over 30 pounds.
8. No crazy issues with breeding/pollination. Refer to benefit 1.
9. Who cares if they have no seeds. You can even buy them Pre-roasted.
10. Assuming you get seeds (and you likely will) Refer to growing suggestion # 6.

5/7/2008 7:49:10 PM

Reed Point Montana

I would suggest just planting the in rows spacing plants about 2 feet apart and dont worry about pruning or burying vine or nothing like that just let them vine over the patch and make sure the water wont break out of the row befor it vines over or it can be a pain otherwise just water regularly and you can harvest lots of pumpkins after the pumpkins turn orange and the vine get frosted and dies.
Good luck! ~mid~

5/7/2008 8:28:41 PM