The holidays are all about starting traditions with your family, and one of the most common ways to ring in the Halloween season is to visit a Kansas City pumpkin patch. While it can be a lot of fun to let the kids pick their favorite pumpkins from a wide selection of choices, the experience can be even more memorable if they are given the opportunity to grow their own pumpkins. Another advantage to growing your own pumpkins is that several of them are generally produced from one plant, providing plenty of pumpkins for homemade pies, muffins, and other seasonal treats. Clean Air Gardening offers some helpful gardening tips when growing your own pumpkin for Halloween:
- Since pumpkins prefer warmer temperatures (70 degrees during the day and 60 degrees in the evenings), September is an excellent month to grow pumpkins due to its mild weather.
- While there are a wide variety of pumpkin species that you could grow, the most traditional carving pumpkins are Winter Luxury, Spooktacular, Trickster, Sugar Treat, Baby Bear, Spookie, and Triple Treat. If you are looking to grow a larger pumpkin (approximately 25 pounds), try an Autumn Gold, Harvest Moon, or Jack-o-Lantern.
- When planting your pumpkins, choose a sunny spot, space your mounds approximately 4-5 feet apart, and plant the pumpkin seeds 1-2 inches into the mounds. Limit the amount of water that your growing pumpkins receive (no more than 1 to 2 inches of water per week are needed).
(Image via Flickr)
