Pumpkins

Pumpkins are easy to grow and will store for a year if harvested correctly. They take up a lot of space unless you grow bush varieties, though I prefer the traditional varieties like Queensland Blue. If your front yard is underutilized, then why not grow them there and let them clamber over all that wasted ground. You can also grow them between your Sweetcorn or fruit trees. You can pinch out the growing tips if the vines really are getting too long and this will direct more energy into fruit production. I usually pinch them out once the vine has reached about 3 metres in length.

Pumpkins like sunshine, lots of organic matter, water and a well drained growing position. Seeds should be sown in mid spring. I usually dump a wheelbarrow full of compost somewhere and push 3 seeds into each of 3 clumps near the top of the pile of compost. Thin to the 3 strongest seedlings and wait.

They can be a bit slow to take off but once they get going they're hard to stop. Keep the water up to them but don't drench the leaves of young plants, as all members of the Cucurbit family are prone to mildew. Drip irrigation would be perfect.

Attract bees to your backyard, perhaps with lavender, and the bees will pollinate your pumpkins for you.

Pumpkins are ready to harvest when the stems at the base of the fruit are dry and almost brittle. Be careful not to break the stem from the fruit or your pumpkin will rot from this point inwards. Leave about half a metre of stem attached and leave in the sun for a few days. Store in a cool well ventilated place like the garden shed.