starting a pumpkin bed for next year

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gardening_momma southwest, OH Jun 16, 2009

I have to start now, or at least start thinking of it now, or else I'll be caught off guard and not ready next year at planting time...

I'd like to prepare an area in the back corner of my yard for pumpkins next year. I usually have volunteer mini pumpkins growing beside my front steps, but moved them to the back last fall to a raised bed. I built a trellis to grow them on this time so they don't sprawl on the lawn. I haven't had to buy seeds for these--the first ones were given to us, and I shovel them off the steps each year.

This year I bought seeds for jack-o-lantern size pumpkins. They're "medium sized." I dug a little hole in the grass and topped it with some soil from my raised beds, and planted a couple of seeds there. This year I'll let it sprawl over the grass, but I'd like to make something more permanent for them next year.

If I were to build a raised bed, about what size might I need? Can I stake it or grow it on a trellis at all? Maybe not too high, as the pumpkins will be kind of heavy.

What about this year's plant? Can I rig up something to keep the vine mostly off the grass? I have a couple of plant stakes that have a loop at the top--I was thinking of putting a series of pairs of those in, with twine tied across, and I could lay the vine on the twine as it grows.

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