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Austria

Hey guys, 2026 is going to be my third year of growing. In my fist year I've grown a 290 lb pumpkin and last year a 1150lb and a 860lb pumpkin. For this year I'm aiming to grow three Pumpkins since I have plenty space.
I've grown the two from last year in my 3200 squareefeet patch, so each pumpkin had a 39 x 39 feet patch, which I wasn't able to fill out (I've coverd around 2/3 of the patch with the pumpkin plants).

So my questions are:
1.How much space does an Giant Pumpkin ideally need? (On how much space do the champions grow their 2000+lbs pumpkins)
2. In order to that, is my current patch big enough to go with 3 pumpkins or do I need to expand it?
3. Where in my patch should I plant the three plants? - where will be the root comming out the ground and where is the MV growing to?
4. How should the vine pattern look - the whole layout of the patch?
5. What am I supposed to do with the Vine that comes after the polinated pumpkin?(let it grow, cut it off, just take the secondarys off?)

I hope you can help me with those qoestions, the more details the better:)
Thanks a lot!

1/26/2026 7:38:16 AM

Portland, CT

1. Generally speaking, 1000 square feet is the golden standard. Some people like to go with 1200+ and some people grow huge pumpkins In less than 800.
2. 3200 square feet is more than enough. Taking care of 3 full sized plants will keep you VERY busy. You could always just do 2 full sized plants and then a 150 square foot challenge plant.
3. Many people like to plant their seedlings closer to the middle of their patch and then grow the plant outwards. That way, the main root stays in the most fertile soil and it will be easier to harvest your pumpkin since it's closer to the edge of your patch. This really depends on the shape of your patch though.
4. I like what's called the waterfall pattern (search that on the site search function) or the diamond pattern. Those patterns keep the longest secondary vines next to/slightly past your fruit. Your oldest secondary vines are the first to age/die so theres no need to have them be very long in my opinion.
5. I would remove that secondary. Your plants will be large and the vine next to the pumpkin can be annoying so theres no need to keep that specific vine. I would use a clean razor blade to remove the secondary vine, tendril and leaf at the pumpkins node as soon as pollination is confirmed. Keep that area bone dry and clean.

1/26/2026 10:28:14 AM

Grittyville, WA

"In cucurbits (such as cucumbers and pumpkins), phloem transport velocity typically ranges between 0.15 and 0.19 mm/s (approximately 0.54 to 0.68 m/h). These rates are relatively consistent across different species and developmental stages once a plant moves past its initial seedling phase."

Assuming no bottleneck effect (of multiple phloem channels coming together at the pumpkins) we have a maximum theoretical vine length that could supply the pumpkin with energy would be 53.5 feet (within a 24 hr time cutoff)

1/26/2026 4:37:51 PM

Grittyville, WA

There are a lot of reasons why its probably much less than this and why the most efficient energy production and utilization is going to occur near the pumpkin. The bulk of the energy probably coming from just a 15 ft radius from the pumpkin, and perhaps a bit more energy from 15-25 ft. Geometry is that a 15 ft radius out from the pumpkin in all directions is 706 sq feet... This alone can yield a 2500-2600 lb pumpkin using a conservative yield/sq ft. conversion. Just something to think about... Don't take my word for it. I'm not the best grower. Generally the best growers like to grow big plants.

1/26/2026 4:52:33 PM

Ontario

I like 6-800 foot spaces. I find with the way my weather goes I cant fill much more anyway.
In 3200 I would go 3 easily. Maybe 4 if you wanted.
Vine pattern isnt hugely important, just make sure you have space to grow 20 foot main vine before pollination, and give yourself some room in case the first pollination doesn't take. So 30 foot mains, rest doesn't matter too much imo.

1/26/2026 5:34:47 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Check this out from the year 2009 with much weaker seeds than we have today. 700 pounds in 105sq feet, such a cool pic and simple layout.

https://bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=118469

1/26/2026 5:57:07 PM