SAN FRANCISCO — A trip to the pumpkin patch or field in the San Francisco area may be necessary for local residents who want to carve a jack-o’-lantern from or decorate their homes with the best pumpkins around this fall.
But for some pumpkin lovers, it’s possible to grow, harvest, cure and store your own at home.
First, you need pumpkins. The San Francisco area offers these patches and fields:
Slip a hand under the bottom of the pumpkin, with the stem intact, and carry them away from the vine. Clean the pumpkin with soapy water to remove soil and kill pathogens on the surface. Harvest to Table says to use one part bleach to 10 parts water.
curing pumpkins
Set the pumpkin in a warm place — anywhere from 80-85 degrees should work — for 10-14 days, Harvest to Table says.
Storing pumpkins
For people in San Francisco who have completed all the above steps already in 2021, it may be time to store the pumpkins before displaying them in the fall.
Store them at about 50 degrees, with about 60 percent humidity, according to Harvest to Table. A shed or garage could be in an ideal spot. Do not let the pumpkins touch.
If done right, the pumpkins could stay in good condition for two to three months.
Plan ahead for 2022
It’s too late to start pumpkin growing this year, but beginning this process next spring could lead to some orange beauties come fall 2022.
It’s not only large pumpkin fields that produce the orange, fall traditional fruit. Pumpkins can be grown in ordinary back yards, too, but only if there’s enough space.
Pumpkins are often referred to as a “garden gorilla,” gardening experts at HGTV said in a guide on how to grow pumpkins. The vines of the large plants sprawl and expand throughout the growing season, much like watermelons. They grow quickly, and can take out other plants if not contained.
Backyard gardeners have been known to tuck the pumpkin plants along the edges of a vegetable garden, although some let their pumpkin vines ramble across the yard.
Best Ways To Plant Pumpkins
Pumpkin seeds should be planted in rows, or “pumpkin hills,” so the soil will warm more quickly, according to Almanac.com. Dig 12-15 inches into the ground, plant the seeds 1 inch deep into the hills, and space the hills 4-8 feet apart.
When the plants reach 2-3 inches tall, thin to 2-3 plants per hill by cutting off the unwanted plants.
Pumpkins should be planted after the final spring frost.
