Planting pumpkins?

[Dace]

My 8 yr old planted some pumpkins in containers with her brownie troop. Of course they sprouted, even though it is on the early side.....so I carved out a spot for them, loosened up the soil, added some top soil as well as composted chicken manure and some slow release fert. I am in a So Cal in a rental with very poor soil.

Do I need to make a hill for each seed (two), or can I just plant them in the ground? (I really don't understand the point of the hills, maybe someone can explain!)

Am I forgetting anything else? I would really like for my budding gardener to have some success!

 

[hoodat]

I never use hills; in fact quite the opposite. I plant them in depresions so I can water them without getting the leaves wet, which can bring on mildew. I do the same for vining squash. SoCal soil is very low in organic matter at the start and on the alkaline side because of the low rainfall but is normally quite high in natural potash and phosphate. With the addition of enough humus it becomes a very productive soil. You may find the addition of gypsum helpfull. The sulphur in it helps neutralize the alkalinity and the calcium is beneficial to the fruit of tomatos and peppers. BTW I hope you have enough ROOOOOOM for the vines. They can really spread.

 

[Dace]

Thanks for the advice

I am in SD too, south of Poway.

I do have a space set aside where there are a couple of large Calla lilies in a nice sized bed that gets about 8 hours of sun. I think there should be enough room for the vines to sprawl.

I will pick up some gypsum, thanks.

 

[ninnymary]

I don't do hills either. My garden is too small for that. A couple years ago we planted pumpkins for my preschoolers. They were big and were so easy to grow. We enjoyed them for months on the front porch for halloween.

I was also careful in watering them. Made sure the water didn't touch the leaves. Mildew is a problem here in the bay area where foggy days/nights are common.

Mary