Of course, a pumpkin plant thrives even without being pinched. Anyone who uses this traditional care technique directs the energy specifically into a few giant fruits. Follow our instructions for harvesting beautiful pumpkins.
How and when should you harvest pumpkins?
Growing pumpkins means removing or shortening excess shoots on the plant in order to direct the energy specifically into a few large fruits. This happens in two stages: June with 3-5 leaves per shoot and July above the 5th or 6th leaf.
What does 'exhausting' actually mean?
Every pumpkin plant strives to branch out more and more. For this purpose, it regularly forms new shoots in the leaf axils. Since there is only a limited amount of energy available, the plant distributes its power evenly across the constantly growing number of shoots. The result is lots of little pumpkins.
Now it can definitely be in the interest of the hobby gardener to grow a variety of small pumpkins. In this case, do nothing. If your intention is to grow a few heavyweights, you can achieve this by eliminating or shortening excess shoots. Experts call the process 'stripping'.
Two rounds per season are enough
Now growing pumpkins is not nearly as labor-intensive as with tomatoes, for example. Anyone who sees themselves marching into the bed or onto the balcony every day in their mind's eye can sit back and relax. The procedure is limited to two appointments:
- in June on pumpkin plants with 3 to 5 leaves, shorten each shoot to 2 leaves
- In July, thin out again above the fifth or sixth leaf
- leave only as many female flowers on the plant as pumpkins are desired
In addition, after successful pollination, all male flowers should be cut off so that they do not use up plant energy. Male flowers can be recognized by the fact that they do not bear fruit.
For a giant pumpkin, remove the first female flower
If you're aiming for a record pumpkin, every step of the care process revolves around strengthening the plant. Targeted stripping plays an important role in this context. Experienced pumpkin gardeners swear by removing the first female flower on each shoot. At the earliest, the second or third specimen can be considered as 'the one flower'.
Tips & Tricks
Depending on the type of pumpkin cultivated, a more or less large cut is created during the process of pruning. Ideally, you should immediately treat the interface with charcoal ash. In this way, you can effectively prevent infestation by fungal spores, viruses or pests.