A few weeks ago Melia (4) and I began a growing experiment. It is becoming a tradition of ours. This year our garden is taking a bit of a spin though. We’ve decided on a container garden. The unusual part is this year we decided to try and grow pumpkins. Sound crazy?! Quite possibly very crazy.

We moved into our house almost 3-years ago. We have 5-acres in the country, which we love! Last year we attempted our first real garden. It was really the first of our growing experiments. I had let each of the kids randomly pick a pack of seeds and off we went. Imagine me, running a rototiller in 90 degree heat, 7-months pregnant! It happened. My husband has the photo to prove it. Then he yelled at me because I was too impatient to wait for him to finish working so he could do it.

Last year the garden wasn’t much of a success. Partly because I was so pregnant. Partly because we lost interest as the baby was born. However, I mostly blame it on the birds. They completely obliterated all of Cameron’s peas almost as soon as we transplanted them. Melia’s watermelon took over (understatement)! Between the dog ripping them off the vine (they looked like a ball) and the running out of space, we only got 1 that survived to be picked. I was shocked we even got that. Our tomatoes did the best.

This year I decided to bring the tomatoes inside the patio area. They would have access to the sun and be easier to care for. The biggest factor was getting them away from the pests out in the yard. When we saw the pumpkin seeds, we couldn’t resist. Wouldn’t it be cool to have our own pumpkins for Halloween versus buying them?!

A few weeks ago we started the seeds on the patio. Within 3-4 days they were begging to be transplanted. I think they liked all of the Florida sun.

The more I thought about planting a traditional garden, the more I considered tossing the pumpkin idea. Then I had a crazy thought. Could I grow a pumpkin in a container on the patio? Well I found plenty of websites that said I could. I’m sure none of them have my incredibly ungreen thumb, but we threw caution to the wind and decided to give it a try.

So many people have given tips. Planting them in larger pots placing them in full sun. Use lots of fertilizer and water. As the vines begin to grow, simply train them to climb a vine or wind around the bottom of the pot. Once pumpkins begin to grow you can position them and place them on some hay (or something to cushion them from the cement). Then snip the vines once you have a couple of pumpkins started so all of the focus remains on growing those that have started.

I anticipate I will need to move them outside at some point so the bees can pollinate the flowers. Otherwise, it sounds like it should be pretty easy. Right? Well, wish me luck. This entire experiment will be trial and error for us.

Do you have any experience or tips for growing pumpkins?