How to Raise Pumpkins

Collect a soil sample from the garden and send it to your local university extension for soil testing. Pumpkins grow best in a soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5.

Amend the soil, if necessary, according to the instructions from your university extension. Apply fertilizer according to the soil test report or, alternatively, apply 10 pints of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 feet of row before planting.

Plant seeds at a depth of a 3/4-inch, 24 to 36 inches apart. Space the plant rows 5 to 6 feet apart. Plant vine varieties on dirt formed into a hill, allowing 50 to 100 square feet per pumpkin plant. Plant the seeds 1 inch deep. Create hills 5 to 6 feet apart in rows that are 10 to 15 feet apart.

Water the seeds after planting so that the soil around the seed is moist--not soaking wet or flooding.

Water the pumpkin so it receives 1 inch of water per week. Include approximate rainfall into the calculation.

Remove weeds from around the plant by hand as the plant grows.

Apply 1 pint of 12-0-44 fertilizer per every 100 feet of plants both three and six weeks after planting the seeds to aid in growing. Spread the fertilizer at the base of the plant. Water the fertilizer slowly to work it into the soil. Do not use a high pressure hose. It will wash the fertilizer away.

Move pumpkins as they grow to prevent pumpkins from touching each other. Extended contact with other pumpkin plants will cause rot.

Harvest the pumpkin after the shell has hardened. Pick the pumpkin before the first hard freeze in your area.