When fall arrives, there are no shortages of places where someone in need can acquire a pumpkin. Boy scouts and other civic organizations sell from their stock or they buy pumpkins to sell to the public. Either way, they are plentiful.

One way to make a little cash during the months of September through November is to begin and maintain a pumpkin farm of your very own. One doesn’t need a twenty acre setup to grow pumpkins but time and attention along with patience are required.

It seems easy to grow something with such a solid rind but these beauties are temperamental. Unless they get what they want, their growth will be puny indeed. Start with good soil to nourish your pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin seeds are not put into the ground from the start. They are planted indoors in the spring. These humble beginnings give pumpkin seeds a fighting chance to germinate away from bugs and birds. Most growers plant more seeds than they need in case something unforeseen happens and some of the seeds or small pumpkins die.

Once those seeds begin to rear their tiny little heads above the soil, they are ready to go out into the world of the garden. The first month is the most critical. Tiny pumpkin seeds need protection from insects, the sun, and drying out. On cold evenings, cover new seedlings to protect from harsh winds and potential late season frost.

Just when you thought that they were old enough to go it on their own, fungus bursts on the scene. It is not common but possible for all pumpkins. One way to avoid damaging fungal growth is to water pumpkin plants during the morning so that the water has time to soak in and the leaves can dry in the sun of the day.

Fertilizer provides nutrients for the pumpkins and promotes increased growth. Continue watering as much as possible to grow larger pumpkins. Since pumpkins are mostly water (like watermelon) the extra water is carried in the “meat” of the pumpkin.

Bees come to pollinate pumpkins. Without pollination, pumpkins will be small and there will be fewer of them as harvest time. Declining bee populations have led some growers to pollinate by hand. This is a lot of work so pray for the bees to do it.

When harvest time comes, keep pumpkins on the vine as long as possible. Cutting an unripe pumpkin from its vine can stop the ripening process all together.

Pumpkin growing is not an easy task, but it is a rewarding one. With the way that we use pumpkins each year around the holidays, it can become a profitable business.

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