Crop lessons · Cucurbits (squash family)
Growing Pumpkin in Florida
Cucurbita spp. · Cucurbitaceae (squash family)
Large carving pumpkins can be grown in Florida, but they need a lot of room and about four months, and leaf diseases and fruit rot are common. For Halloween pumpkins, UF/IFAS says to plant by early July. Gardeners who want an easier crop often turn to tropical pumpkins such as Seminole pumpkin and calabaza, which resist disease much better.1, 2
Planting1, 2
| How to start | direct seed (or containerized transplants with developed roots) |
|---|
| Seed depth (inches) | 1 1/2 to 2 |
|---|
| Spacing in the row (inches) | 36 to 60 |
|---|
| Between rows (inches) | 60 |
|---|
| Days to harvest | 80 to 100 from seed; 70 to 90 from transplant |
|---|
The Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide lists early July in North Florida, mid-July in Central Florida and early August in South Florida, which lines up with Gardening Solutions' advice to plant by early July for Halloween. Gardening Solutions also says pumpkins do best planted in late March and early April, maturing in about 100 days, and that plantings from late April through July give smaller pumpkins with more virus, fungus and fruit-set trouble. 'Funny Face' has semi-bush plants that suit small gardens. Pumpkin vines can also be grown beneath taller vegetables.
Varieties UF/IFAS lists for Florida1, 2
- Howden
- Jackpot
- Big Max
- Big Moon
- Jack O'Lantern
- Spirit
- Funny Face
- Connecticut Field
- Prizewinner
- Jack Be Little
Growing1, 3
Plants have separate male and female flowers and depend on bees; EDIS IN1311 notes that wind cannot move squash and pumpkin pollen, so without insect visits yields are low or nil. Pumpkins need a lot of space.
Pests and diseases in Florida1, 2, 4
- Leaf diseases and fruit rot: Common on standard pumpkins in Florida (SP 103); tropical pumpkins are disease resistant by comparison.
- Viruses, fungal disease and poor fruit set: Gardening Solutions links these to plantings made from late April through July.
- Gummy stem blight: EDIS PP280 lists pumpkin among the cucurbits this fungus attacks.
In an aquaponics system5
suited with care
Neither source names pumpkin. FAO's cucumber entry says squash, zucchini and melons, like cucumbers, suit media beds because of their large roots and need a lot of nitrogen and potassium (p. 173); this rating rests on that cucurbit-group statement.
What this lesson doesn't cover yet
- No UF/IFAS page fetched gives harvest signs or storage for standard (carving) pumpkins; harvest left null. The winter squash and calabaza lessons cover hard-rind harvest.
- Planting time conflicts: SP 103 lists only July and August; Gardening Solutions says late March to early April is best and also gives the early-July Halloween date.
- No sun, soil pH, water or fertilizer guidance specific to pumpkin was found.
Your county extension office and its Master Gardener volunteers can fill these in for your garden.