Pumpkin

When to plant/sow in zone:

Requirements: Consistent water; soil temperatures greater than 15 degrees Celsius

Soil: Well-drained soil enriched with compost and/or well-rotted manure or organic pellets. In heavy soil, plant them on a shallow mound to assist with drainage.

How to start: SEEDS: Best sown direct in the ground, 20mm deep, 1.5-2m apart. Sow 2-3 seeds per hole. Keep moist. Germinates in 5-10 days. Once germinated, remove the weaker seedlings. Alternatively, sow two seeds per 15-20cm high mound of compost-enriched soil. SEEDLINGS: Plant in the ground when seedlings are 5-10cm+ tall. Space them 1.5-2m apart. NOTE: Pumpkins can be trained up and over a trellis.

How to grow: Keep moist and mulch with straw. Pumpkins produce three types of vine growth - the main vine, secondary runners which grow from the main vine, and tertiary vines which grow along the secondary runners. Always remove tertiary vines. When the main vine is 3-4m long (or a bit longer if there's pumpkins forming you want to keep) snip off the growing tip and bury it. When the secondary runners are 3m long do the same. This lets the plant put all its energy into the developing fruit. If vines are on the ground, put straw under the pumpkins to prevent them from rotting.

When to harvest: Harvest from about 20 weeks, when the leaves are dying back, the stem is beginning to brown and the fruit sounds hollow when tapped. Leave a 5-10cm stem on each pumpkin, and place them on their side (so water doesn't collect around the stem) in the sun to 'cure' for two weeks. Then store in a cool, ventilated space out of direct sunlight.

Troubleshooting: Aphids; powdery mildew; rats and possums