How to Grow Pumpkins
The next time you make pumpkin soup, keep the seeds and dry them ready for planting in springtime. If it is already springtime when you are using the pumpkin, just place a few of the seeds with the debris from the pumpkin in a suitable place in the garden.
You’ll need plenty of room for the pumpkin vine to spread out while it grows but you don’t even need to dig a hole. There’s no need to break your back clearing space for the vine to grow. That’s one of the benefits of organic gardening.
The pumpkin plant will happily spread over the surrounding lawn and even climb up or through a nearby fence. Once it has spread as far as you are prepared to let it grow, start picking off the end of each runner. It won’t just grow in one direction, so space is the key.
Pull a few handfuls of grass out of your lawn and pile the grass in the clearing. If you have compost available, add a handful to the pile. Put your pumpkin seeds on top and water the pile occasionally. The grass will disintegrate and provide food for worms before the pumpkin seeds take hold.
Take a moment to congratulate yourself because you’ve just begun growing something organically. If all the pumpkin seeds sprout successfully, dig up the extra plants carefully and transplant them to their own patch of land.
If you get lucky and have the chance to pick up a pumpkin that is beyond being attractive as food (okay, so it’s a little rotten), chop the entire pumpkin into pieces and just lay the pieces seed-side down in your chosen spot. A rotting pumpkin is the perfect environment for pumpkin seeds to grow.
