How to Grow Pumpkins Indoors

It's disappointing when you've missed pumpkin season. However, this article will help you grow pumpkins indoors without using too much space.

Steps

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    Purchase pumpkin seeds. Places you can buy them are eBay or Home Depot. You could also simply pick the seeds out of a pumpkin.
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    Find a plastic, disposable cup. Fill it with compost or natural fertilizer. Using your fingers, dig a small hole into the compost/natural fertilizer.[1]
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    Place three seeds about half an inch down. Make sure they're not in too deep before covering the hole with the fertilizer once more.
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    Water the pumpkin seeds every other day. However, make sure the soil doesn't get too wet. Otherwise, the seeds will die.[2]
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    Wait a few weeks until all the pumpkin seeds have sprouted. Then, transplant them into clay pots. However, be careful not to disturb the pumpkin roots - they might go into shock and die.
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    Put in six foot dowel rods next to the pumpkins in the clay pots. The tendrils of the pumpkin plants will then coil around the dowel rods. After a while, the pumpkins will produce blossoms, which is a sign that they will be ready soon.[3]
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    Pollinate the blossoms. Since your pumpkin plants are indoors and have no access to pollination by bees or other insects, you are in charge of pollinating blossoms so that your plants can produce pumpkins.[4]
    • Learn how to identify female and male blossoms. Pumpkins produce both male and female blossoms on the same vine. Male blossoms are longer, thinner, and look like trumpets. They have a stamen (little stem with pollen on it) on the inside. Female blossoms are wider, shorter, and more open, like little bowls. They do not have stamens in them.
    • Watch (and possibly collect) your male blossoms carefully. It is possible for the vine to produce male blossoms first. They might wilt before a female blossom develops. If they wilt, don't throw them away, but save them until a female blossom is open.
    • Pollinate the female blossoms. This can be done in two different ways: if your male blossoms are still on the vine and alive, use a clean paintbrush (or baking brush/basting brush) to carefully pick up some pollen (yellow powder) off of the stamen (little stem in the inside middle of the blossom) of the male blossoms. Use your brush to gently touch the pollen to the base (inside) of the female blossom(s). If your male blossoms are wilted, open them up carefully and pull out the stamen (stem in the middle of the blossoms with the pollen on the end). Take the stamen and gently push it with the pollen end into the female blossom until it touches the bottom and some pollen comes off. You can just leave the stamen in there, if you want, or remove it afterward.
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    Make sure your plant gets enough light and water. Ensure this especially when fruit develops from the blossoms.
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    Harvest your pumpkins. Once the they have turned the mature color, they are ready to be collected. Cut off the pumpkin about two inches above the pumpkin's top.[5]
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    Do pumpkins make good indoor vine plants?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Not really. They are a nice vine, but they require a lot of light to grow well, and if they can't find it, they will grow and climb to find it. As they grow and climb, they produce little curly "fingers" called tendrils. They grab everything they touch. Because of this, your pumpkin plant can easily become a permanent part of your furniture, fabrics, drapes, blinds etc.
  • Question
    Do I need dowel rods?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    If you don't want pumpkin vines all over your walls and furniture, then yes.
  • Question
    Is it possible for me to grow a pumpkin inside another pumpkin?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    If the outer pumpkin is ripe and begins to rot, the seeds inside may sprout, but it won't be successful.
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References

  1. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingpumpkins1.shtml
  2. ↑ https://balconygardenweb.com/growing-pumpkins-in-containers-how-to-grow-pumpkins-in-pots/
  3. ↑ https://balconygardenweb.com/growing-pumpkins-in-containers-how-to-grow-pumpkins-in-pots/
  4. ↑ https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/visual-guides/pollination-of-squash-and-pumpkins.aspx
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ull8qfY2WiU

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 87,082 times.
108 votes - 98%
Co-authors: 11
Updated: May 6, 2021
Views: 87,082
Categories: Growing Squashes
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