How to Grow Pumpkin indoors: 7 Tips

When it comes to pumpkins, what comes to your mind? You might think of Halloween, fall, sweet flavors, and delicious pies. Thanks to the advanced technology, we can purchase pumpkins all year round. It means that pumpkins can be grown whenever and wherever we want. We can grow pumpkins indoors, in greenhouses, or even without soil. Indoor growing is a good choice for starting pumpkins. We have 7 tips to help you have a successful indoor pumpkin cultivation. Since pumpkins have large leaves and long vines, they need a large space. If you plan to grow pumpkin indoors from seeds to harvest, make sure you have enough space before starting it. Moreover, supplemental lighting is needed because the natural light might be insufficient.

Key information on pumpkin cultivation

A pumpkin is a cultivar of winter squash, and its fruit is a type of berry called pepo. Pumpkins are round with smooth and lightly ribbed rinds. Most of the pumpkins have deep yellow to orange colors, while some are white or pink. Pumpkins produce large leaves, long vines, and curling tendrils. Pumpkins are of different sizes according to their varieties.

Here is a table with the key information about pumpkin cultivation.

	Days to Harvest: About 90 - 120 days		Soil: Loamy, well-draining soil
	Temperature: About 24 - 35°C		Fertilizer: Balanced fertilizer
	Water: Remain moist at all times. Require more during hot weather		Light: At least 8 hours full light. Supplemental grow lights are needed.

Be patient for growing pumpkin

In general, growing pumpkins is not easy. Firstly, it takes about 90 to 120 days to harvest. In this period, you have to pay a decent amount of care and setup to ensure the healthy growth of pumpkins. Secondly, pumpkins need large spaces because of their leaves and vines. This means you should prepare a large and specified area for growing pumpkins indoors. Although you can train pumpkins up a trellis or vertical frames to save space, it also costs a lot of energy and time. Lastly, pumpkins require a warm growing environment, full light, rich soil, and sufficient water. If they only get little light or water, or grow in poor soil, or cold weather, the time to harvest could exceed 140 days.

Choose pumpkins and prepare seeds

There are different varieties of pumpkins available, so you need to choose the best one that can grow well in your space. For indoor growing, pumpkins in smaller sizes, like the Sugar Pie and Mini-Jack, are good options. Medium-size pumpkins like Jack-O-Lanterns are also suitable for indoor growing if you have enough space.

Once decide which type of pumpkins to grow, you can plan to start it. You can purchase seeds from stores or online. You can also try to grow pumpkins from pumpkins. Sounds strange? It means you can use the fresh seeds from pumpkin fruits. Remove the seeds from the pumpkins, and then clean them well with water. Then select larger seeds on paper to dry for 24 hours. After that, cover them with tissues or dry towels, and store them in a plastic or fabric bag.  

Sow and transplant pumpkin at the right time

Many people want to know when to sow to transplant pumpkins. The time for sowing and transplanting pumpkins is critical as it can affect the germination and seedlings. Successful germination and robust seedlings are the basements of fruit development. Pumpkins require a warm growing environment. The best time for sowing pumpkins indoors is 2 or 3 weeks before the last frost in the spring. The specific time varies from location to location. If you cannot wait to start it, sow pumpkins in when the soil temperature reaches at least 18 °C and the night air temperature is higher than 13°C. About 4 to 6 weeks later, transplant the seedlings. At this time, pumpkins have developed strong roots, which can support their growth.

Water pumpkins appropriately

Pumpkins are thirsty plants, and they require a large amount of water to support their growth. Therefore, keeping the soil damp is important. To ensure sufficient water, water the pumpkins when the soil is dry to touch. However, excessive water can also damage the plants. If the soil is soaked, the pumpkin roots might be rotted and drown. Furthermore, avoid the leaves when watering pumpkins. Otherwise, you are inviting diseases and fungal issues. Besides, water pumpkins in the morning as possible. The hot temperature will accelerate the water evaporating out of the leaves. Watering pumpkins in the morning allows soil to dry throughout the day. It also helps vines thrive.

Indoor cultivation requires hand pollination

The pollination of open-field pumpkins is finished by insects and natural winds. But for indoor pumpkins, without the help of insects, you have to pollinate by yourself. There are both female and male flowers in a pumpkin plant. Male flowers are often bloom faster than females, and they are long and thin. You can use a paintbrush to brush the center of male flowers, then repeat this process to female flowers. Please note that the paintbrush should be clean. A clean paintbrush can avoid diseases.

Avoid insufficient lighting

Pumpkin plants thrive on sufficient sun. Insufficient light will result in poor and leggy plants, which will also reduce the flowers and yields. Pumpkins require at least 8 hours of full light per day. The 12 hours of full light would be better. Indoor growing lacks a sufficient amount of sunlight per day. Therefore, supplemental lighting is required. LED grow lights are the best options because of their high efficiency, customized spectra, and low energy consumption. Once your seeds have germinated, you had better place them under the LED grow lights. With the help of LED grow lights, pumpkin plants are short and stocky. They also have deeper roots and robust plants. At least, having LED grow lights can boost the flower and yield effectively.

Hope these 7 tips can help you manage indoor pumpkin cultivation better. If you don’t have enough space, you can grow pumpkins from seeds to seedlings, and then transplant them to open-filed or greenhouses. In the period of indoor growing, LED grow lights are irreducible. If you need any help with your plants' LED grow lights, contact us.