Pumpkin Donation Tracker

Quick Links: How & Where to Grow | Temperature | How to Care For | Harvest Signs | Harvesting | Pruning | Storage | Pests | Varieties | Preservation | Recipes | Michigan Tips | Fun Facts

🌱 How & Where to Grow Pumpkins:

• Plant early June for Halloween – timing is everything for pumpkins!
• Direct sow when soil reaches 65°F.
• Space plants 4-6 feet apart for small varieties, 8-10 feet for large.
• Sunlight: Full sun (8+ hours) for best development.
• Soil Type: Rich, well-drained soil with pH 6.0-6.8.
• Soil Amendment: Work in generous compost – pumpkins are heavy feeders

Count backwards from Halloween – most pumpkins need 90-120 days to mature!

🌡️ Temperature Guidance:

Very cold-sensitive. Use black plastic, raised beds.

• Planting: Minimum 65°F soil, 70°F is better.
• Growing: Thrives at 65-85°F air temperature.
• Frost kills vines instantly – protect young plants.
• Cool nights slow growth and ripening.

Michigan’s variable spring means row covers are insurance for early plantings!

💧 How to Care for:

• Consistent Moisture: Critical during fruit development.
• Watering: Deep weekly watering – 1 inch minimum.
• Mulch: Heavy straw mulch keeps fruit clean and soil moist.
• Fertilizer: Feed every 2 weeks once vines start running.
• Fruit support: Place boards under developing pumpkins to prevent rot.

📏 Harvest Signs:

Deep color, hard rind, hollow thump, dry stem.

• A ripe pumpkin sounds like a drum when thumped!
• Full color development for variety – orange, white, etc.
• Stem begins to dry and turn brown.
• Rind resists fingernail pressure.
• Vines naturally dying back.

Harvest before hard freeze but after full color development!

🧺 Harvesting:

Cut with 3-4 inch stem. Never carry by stem. Harvest before hard freeze.

• Always use sharp knife or pruners to cut stem.
• Leave 3-4 inches of stem – crucial for storage.
• Support pumpkin’s weight from bottom when moving.
• Handle carefully – damaged skin leads to rot.
• Wipe clean but don’t wash until use.

✂️ Pruning:

Limit pumpkins per vine. Pinch tips. Remove late flowers.

• For giant pumpkins: Allow only 1 per vine.
• For standard size: Keep 2-4 pumpkins per vine.
• Pinch vine tips when pumpkins reach softball size.
• Remove all flowers after August 1 – won’t mature.
• Bury vines at leaf nodes to prevent vine borer damage.

📦 Storage:

Cure 10 days at 80-85°F. Store 50-55°F for 2-5 months.

• Field cure if weather permits – leave in sun 7-10 days.
• Indoor curing at 80-85°F heals stem wounds.
• Long-term storage at 50-55°F with 50-70% humidity.
• Handle by body, never by stem.
• Wipe with dilute bleach solution to prevent rot.
• Check regularly – remove any showing soft spots.

🪲 Michigan Pests:

Vine borers peak July. Squash bugs numerous. Cucumber beetles.

• Squash vine borers – worst in July. Time planting to avoid peak.
• Squash bugs – check for eggs daily, destroy immediately.
• Cucumber beetles – spread bacterial wilt, devastating to vines.
• Powdery mildew – affects leaves late season.

🎃 Varieties:

Carving: ‘Connecticut Field’. Pie: ‘Sugar Pie’. Mini: ‘Jack-Be-Little’.

• ‘Connecticut Field’: 120 days, classic jack-o’-lantern type.
• ‘Sugar Pie’: 100 days, best for eating and baking.
• ‘Jack-Be-Little’: 90 days, decorative mini pumpkins.
• ‘Howden’: 115 days, perfect carving pumpkin.
• ‘Jarrahdale’: 100 days, blue-gray heirloom, excellent eating.

🫙 Preservation:

Fresh storage. Pressure can cubed only. Freeze puree.

• Fresh storage: Whole pumpkins keep 2-5 months properly stored.
• Puree: Roast, scoop, puree, and freeze in recipe portions.
• Pressure canning: Only safe method – never water bath can.
• Dehydrate: Slice thin for chips or powder.
• Seeds: Roast with salt for healthy snacks.
• Not recommended: Canning pumpkin butter (too dense).

🧑🏽‍🍳 Recipes:

Pumpkin pie, soup, roasted seeds, pumpkin butter.

• Classic pumpkin pie – use ‘Sugar Pie’ variety.
• Creamy pumpkin soup with nutmeg and cream.
• Pumpkin bread – like banana bread but fall-themed!
• Savory stuffed pumpkin with rice and sausage.
• Pumpkin smoothies for breakfast nutrition.

✋🏼 Michigan Tips:

• June 1-15 planting for October harvest.
• Use row covers for early growth boost.
• Plant mini varieties if space is limited.
• Succession plant 2 weeks apart for extended harvest.
• Michigan’s humidity increases disease – space well.
• Consider bush varieties to reduce vine borer damage.

🧠 Fun Facts:

• 90% water.
• Illinois grows 85% processing pumpkins.
• World record 2,700+ pounds!
• Pumpkins are native to North America – grown for 9,000 years!
• Every part is edible – flesh, seeds, flowers, even leaves.
• Pumpkin pie spice contains no pumpkin – just cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves.
• The tradition of carving pumpkins came from Ireland (they used turnips!).
• Michigan ranks in top 10 states for pumpkin production!