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Fresno, CA

I'm wondering just how big a pumpkin can be grown on a lawn instead of bare soil. What's the biggest you've grown on a lawn?

6/27/2009 2:56:30 AM

Gold Hill, Oregon

someones on grass.lol.

6/27/2009 7:07:06 AM

Rhode Island

i dont think anyone keeps records on lawn grown pumpkins.
if the base of the plant is in soil and the vines are all on lawn? id guess if you culled to one you could still grow a couple hundred pounds.

6/27/2009 7:35:17 AM

Col, Ohio

Pap I hate to say it but this is the current situation I'm in. I didn't do enough research before starting and didn't realize that it would take ~2,500 squarefeet per vine of tilled ground. Mine don't have that- a rookie mistake, but we can fix that next year ;)

I'm still reading and learning... a lot. I have a few books (one of which follows the wallace's trials) that have given a good start to learning. I'm used to the local garden store variety of pumpkins- buy 'em and who cares, but with limited seeds from mine, I was cautious to start, but not cautious enough. I'm hoping to get at least seeds so I can start with something better next year.

6/27/2009 8:47:15 AM

Leicester, NY

I had a friend put in a plant in between some shrubs by his house and let the main grow out into the lawn area. No secondaries, just a 17 foot main with the pumpkin at the end. He called me during the season and gave me heck because the pumpkin wasn’t getting very big. What could I say? It topped out at about 50 lbs, but I imagine, was a huge pain to mow around!

6/27/2009 8:54:09 AM

Webster, NY

I gave a plant to a friend who put it in his garden. He kept it along his garage, but it also came out into the yard. It got to a little over 100#. It wasn't given any real care.

6/27/2009 9:39:50 AM

Hamilton Nj

im in the same position mine is got 4foot of soil then all grass, the grass seems good for the vine to grip too its stuck and aint moving im taking good care of it and its at 8 foot yesterday with side vines gonna see what happens!!!!!lol!!! pizza

6/27/2009 9:49:00 AM

Ocala,fl

hi ET, i also started a plant with just a large pit and have let it trail along my lawn.Currently at 62# but hsve read in a few diarys that 300+ is at least possible if you take good care and with luck.I decided to experiment so i buried my vines above ground level by piling grade a topsoil above and around the vines.roots that didnt break through the lawn are filling the soil(which is equal parts good and bad. good more roots--bad constatly tending the soil from runoff and with roots so close to surface burning from over feeding)so just be creative this first yr and grow with what u have.NEXT yr we can apply all we learn and chase the dream pumpkin.lol

6/27/2009 11:13:04 AM

Woodburn, Indiana

I grew two 500's and a 300 all on the same plant my first year (in the grass).

6/27/2009 12:01:55 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Well, I could see a decent Jack-O-Lantern fruit, 200+ pounds being grown in grass.

I would suggest not doing that at all, but if you are going to then maybe keeping at least a strip of treated soil for the main.

The secondary vine would likely coil to the grass, but they will not root very well. Who know? Maybe a few will get roots in.

Also you would still have to put a 5ft x 5ft square of landscape fabric, with sand piled on it 2" high, all under the pumpkin as it starts to grow.

If the fruit sits on the grass, it first kills the grass, then the rotting grass could lead to a rotting pumpkin.

All of the above is why I suggest having a decent size garden.

If a few secondaries come out of the garden into the lawn, I don't think that will harm the plant.

6/27/2009 12:18:34 PM

Col, Ohio

meathead, thanks for the post!


I'm out to go get landscape fabric (completely out of it...)

6/27/2009 3:51:03 PM

Canada

From 2003 till 2006 I grew in a small put and then the rest of the plant vined off onto the lawn ( doesnt work well) I had great soil tested pits but the plants never grew correct once the grass got long ( lots of problems with mildew ext) my biggest to date on the lawn was 376.5 lb.

This year I have it better I tilled an area of 20x20 so roughly 400 sqft for one plant around that area once the plant starts to leave the patch it will be grown onto landscape material which will be covered in about 2-3" of good topsoil/ manure mixture for the vines to be burried in hopeing for a good one this year. I just do it for fun and for my son and niece whom love to carve them in the fall.

Dave

6/27/2009 6:17:10 PM

Farmville, Virginia ([email protected])

2500 square feet per vine??? WOW!

6/27/2009 7:46:18 PM

Western NY

you'll need an area of decent soil worked up where you're going to plant the seedling, and then let it run out into the lawn, mowing less lawn as the vines run.

That's what I did at my old place - my best plant was grown at the back of the garage, and run outward into the lawn. The area that was tilled was a half-circle with about a 10 foot radius. My best was 917 there, good enough for 3rd place at Altoona that year.

6/27/2009 9:28:51 PM

Canada

Andy W - Are you serious? Nice !!

Dave

6/27/2009 10:53:44 PM

Rhode Island

hey you do the best you can with what you got-as the saying goes
garden soil and proper space allocation is important but ------if all you have is something small to plant in then nothing but lawn or field? so be it.

6/28/2009 8:52:29 AM

Flowery Branch, Georgia

Wallace Simmons of Waynesville NC grew all of his big pumpkins on his suburban lawn. He cleared a 10 x 10 foot area and let them onto his lawn after that.

Wallace has since moved to Raleigh NC and I have not heard of him recently.

I forget the exact size of Wallaces Pumpkins but 892
lbs. comes to mind.

His pumpkins are listed on AGGC if anyone is interested.

6/28/2009 10:29:30 AM

Tinykinville

I grew my 1013 last year w/ only the first 10 feet tilled the rest was grown on the lawn. The vines still had little trouble rooting themselves even though the soil under the lawn was red clay. Same w/ my 840dmg. Just make sure to feed and water enough.

6/28/2009 12:29:29 PM

[email protected]

A friend grows 2 in the tilled garden but always has another half dozen growing in shrub beds around the house. Most don't have the space for secondaries so they rarely make even 300 lbs.

6/28/2009 2:45:48 PM

No Place Special

My kids grew one to 760 lbs last yr 100% in the lawn. It was neglected and not watered much and the plant was very small. I think 1000 lbs is possible in the grass. GO FOR IT!!!

6/28/2009 11:09:38 PM

Murfreesboro, TN, USA

I remember a diary a couple of years back where one guy grew his AG's right in his front yard. He lived in a cul-de-sac. It was the coolest to watch his pumpkins grow. I could imagine that he had a lot of lawn repair, but he grew it on top of his grass. I also recall him burying his vines too. I tried to find the diary, but I did not have any success. I believe his pumpkins were greater than 500 lbs too.

Good luck!

6/29/2009 10:22:34 AM

Fresno, CA

Wow - thanks for all the facts and encouragment everyone. My potential outlook is better than I thought.

7/1/2009 3:54:35 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Its not the copetative thing to do, bit if all you want is a giant Jack-O-Lantern in the fall for the kids to carve, then as I said earlier, there still should be an area of decent patch soil for the pumpkin to start in. Even if it si just 10ft x 10ft like Pumpkin JAM mentioned with a 1013 pounder.

I imagine that 90% of the soil nutrients were comming from that 10ft area, but the vines going into the lawn were then just giving good amounts of Photosynthesis.

7/2/2009 1:48:02 PM