Pumpkins 

Companion planting: 
Like: sweetcorn, marjoram 
Dislike: potatoes 

Sow in greenhouse end of August, plant out end of October, also sow directly in garden in October to November. Harvest February (Golden Nugget only) to April.

Sow pumpkins in clumps into small mounds 80 cm apart, thin out gradually to one plant by mound. Sow in soil that has been enriched with a lot of manure. 15ºC needed for germination. Mulch with straw and manure to keep plants moist. Pinch out the growing tips of the runners when they are 2 metres long.

Varieties used:
Waltham Butternut (The Lost Seed)
Golden Nugget

We preferred the taste of the butternut pumpkins to the Golden Nugget pumpkins, but we will continue to grow Golden Nugget as well, as they ripen so much earlier. Next year we will also try Jap pumpkins.

Harvest: keep pumpkins on vines as long as possible. When cutting the pumpkins off, leave one metre of runner attached. Leave them in the sun for two more weeks, then store them in shed without them touching each other.