The pumpkin, also known as pumpkin, is a plant of the Cucurbitaceae family, like the zucchini, cucumber, melon or watermelon, among others. This family of vegetables is characterized, among other things, by being quite sensitive to low temperatures. Its seeds do not germinate if the soil is cold and the plants hardly develop until the heat of late spring and summer arrives. Stay until the end and you will find out when to plant pumpkins, both directly and in the seedbed, taking into account the environmental conditions.
When to plant pumpkins?
We saw in the introduction that squash does not germinate if the ground is colder than it should be but by how much? We are going to see it here.
We should wait for the soil temperature to exceed at least 15 ° C since otherwise, the pumpkins that we sow will not be born.
And it will be even better to sow when the soil exceeds 20 ° C since germination will be much faster and the risk of the seeds rotting or being eaten by animals such as rodents, birds, caterpillars, etc. will be reduced.
L to the soil temperature can be measured quite accurately in the earth by introducing a cooking thermometer, consisting of a rod or probe to meter in water or a turkey cooking.
If you don’t want or can’t make these measurements, don’t plant your pumpkins until mid-to-late spring unless you live in a location with warm, sunny weather year-round.
Direct or protected sowing
The pumpkin, and the other cucurbits, do not tolerate bare-root transplants, but they do when the plants have a root ball of soil that houses the roots.
This means that although the ideal is to sow them directly in the ground – to avoid risks – a seedbed or seedbed can also be made, as long as it is one of those with one hole per plant, such as individual cell trays or small pots.
Sowing seat
In the case of direct sowing, we have already seen when to do it depending on the temperature of the soil, so it will depend a lot on the environmental conditions of each place.
The risk of frost must also be considered since the pumpkin does not tolerate them so that when the plants emerge, the night temperatures do not drop too low and the daytime temperatures are pleasant.
A safe date – in most temperate climates – to sow pumpkins directly is from mid-May, when it is already very difficult for frosts to occur. If spring has been sunny, the soil temperature will be suitable for germination.
In seedbed
Seed sowing is advantageous in those regions with cold springs that pass to a warm and sunny climate in a matter of days. This way, we will have the plants ready to transplant as soon as possible, making the pumpkins gain some advantage.
When to sow the pumpkin in the seedbed will depend on the environmental conditions at the transplanting time, when the plants have 2 or 3 true leaves. The frosts must have stopped, the daytime temperatures must be pleasant and the days bright.
In temperate climates, sowing can be done from April to May (October – November in the southern hemisphere) or even in March if there is no risk of frost.
