Growing Guides
Pumpkin and squash growing guides from Kansas. Vine borer prevention, pest control, companion planting, soil prep, and heirloom varieties. Zone 6b tested.
Best Pumpkins for Carving vs Cooking: Know the Difference
If you have ever hauled home a big orange pumpkin, carved a face into it, and then tried to bake a pie...
Read guide →Upper Ground Sweet Potato Squash: The Complete Growing Guide for Zone 6b Kansas Gardens
Some varieties survive on flavor, some on toughness, and a rare few on history. Upper Ground Sweet Potato squash has all three....
Read guide →Doran Round Squash: The Complete Growing Guide for Zone 6b Kansas Gardens
Most winter squash ask you to commit. A big Hubbard or a full-size Dickinson is a week of meals and a freezer...
Read guide →Pumpkin Puree from Scratch: How to Make It Better Than Canned
Homemade pumpkin puree is one of those kitchen jobs that sounds like a project and turns out to be mostly waiting. You...
Read guide →Kansas Harvest Festival Guide 2026: Where to Celebrate Fall
If you are hunting for the best Kansas harvest festivals 2026 has to offer, this is the season to circle some weekends....
Read guide →How to Build a Pumpkin Trellis: Plans and Materials List
A pumpkin trellis DIY build is one of the highest-return weekend projects in a small garden. You get the vines up off...
Read guide →The Best Squash for Baby Food: Nutrition and Variety Guide
Parents ask us about the best squash for baby food more often than you might expect for a seed company. It makes...
Read guide →Growing Pumpkins for Profit: Small Farm Seed Sales Guide
Growing pumpkins for profit is one of the most realistic ways to make a small plot of ground pay for itself. Pumpkins...
Read guide →Does the Pumpkin Knock Test Work? What to Check Instead
The knock test is real but unreliable on its own. Here are the four checks that actually tell you a pumpkin is...
Read guide →End of Season Vine Borer Report: What We Learned This Year
Now that the vines have gone brown and the last squash is curing on the porch, it is worth sitting down with...
Read guide →Crop Rotation for Pumpkins: A Simple 4-Year Plan
Crop rotation for pumpkins and squash is the cheapest pest control you will ever use, and it costs nothing but a little...
Read guide →Best Winter Squash for Soups: Flavor Guide by Variety
The best squash for soup is dense, dry-fleshed, and sweet enough to carry a bowl on its own. That rules out most...
Read guide →How Long Do Pumpkins Last? Storage Guide by Variety
A whole, cured pumpkin can last anywhere from one month to a full year, and the variety sitting on your porch is...
Read guide →How to Cure Pumpkins and Winter Squash for Long Storage
Curing pumpkins for storage is the one step that separates a squash lasting three weeks from one still firm on your counter...
Read guide →What Is Ayote? The Central American Squash, Explained
If you grew up hearing the word ayote in a kitchen, you already know what it is. If you found this page...
Read guide →When to Harvest Pumpkins and Winter Squash
By late August in Kansas, the question changes. All season it has been how to keep vines alive through heat, wind, and...
Read guide →August Pumpkin Patch Guide: What to Do This Month
August pumpkin care comes down to one idea: protect what your plants have already built. By now your vines have done the...
Read guide →Rare Squash Varieties You've Never Heard Of
Most seed racks carry the same half dozen faces every spring, and there is nothing wrong with them. But if you have...
Read guide →The History of Pumpkins in America: From Indigenous Farms to Your Garden
The history of pumpkins in America starts a lot earlier than most of us were taught. Not at Plymouth, not with a...
Read guide →Gifts for Gardeners: Kansas Heirloom Seed Gift Ideas
Buying a gift for a gardener is easier than most people think. You are not shopping for a thing, you are shopping...
Read guide →What to Do When Your Pumpkin Patch Gets Overwhelmed by Weeds
If your pumpkin patch weed control plan quietly fell apart sometime around the Fourth of July, you are in very good company....
Read guide →Prairie Gardening: Growing Food in Kansas Wind and Heat
Prairie gardening in Kansas asks different questions than gardening almost anywhere else. Most garden books assume a sheltered backyard, gentle summers, and...
Read guide →Second Planting Pumpkins: Is It Too Late to Start in July?
If you are searching for advice on planting pumpkins in July, here is the honest answer up front: it is late, but...
Read guide →How Heirloom Seeds Are Different from Store-Bought Seeds
The real difference between heirloom seeds vs store bought seeds is not the price on the packet. It comes down to three...
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