Growing Guides
Pumpkin and squash growing guides from Kansas. Vine borer prevention, pest control, companion planting, soil prep, and heirloom varieties. Zone 6b tested.
How to Check for Vine Borers: Signs, Symptoms, and Scouting
If you grow pumpkins or squash in Kansas, learning the vine borer signs and symptoms is the single most useful scouting skill...
Read guide →Squash Vine Borer Season Is Here: Your June Action Plan
If you grow pumpkins or squash anywhere in the Midwest, squash vine borer season is the stretch of summer you plan your...
Read guide →Kansas Summer Garden Prep: Protecting Your Plants from Heat
Kansas summers are something else. By the time July arrives, daytime temperatures regularly push past 100°F, the humidity traps heat in the...
Read guide →How to Grow La Estrella F1 Calabasa Pumpkin
La Estrella is a Cucurbita moschata F1 hybrid, and that species designation is the first thing to understand about growing it. Moschata...
Read guide →Why Your Pumpkin Flowers Are Falling Off (And When to Worry)
If you step outside one morning and find pumpkin flowers falling off in handfuls, the first thing to know is this: most...
Read guide →Growing Giant Pumpkins: Tips for Going Big in Kansas
If you've ever stood in a pumpkin patch and thought bigger, you're not alone. Learning how to grow giant pumpkins is one...
Read guide →How to Grow Sunflowers in Kansas: A Zone 6b Growing Guide
Sunflowers are one of the most rewarding crops you can grow in a Kansas garden. They thrive in our hot, dry summers,...
Read guide →Pumpkin Fertilizer Guide: What, When, and How to Feed
Getting your pumpkin fertilizer schedule right is one of the most straightforward ways to improve your harvest, and one of the most...
Read guide →Watering Pumpkins: How Much, How Often, and Common Mistakes
If there's one question that comes up more than almost any other from first-time pumpkin growers, it's this: how often to water...
Read guide →Best Pie Pumpkin Varieties: A Baker's Guide to Choosing Seeds
Not all pumpkins are created equal when it comes to pie. The best pie pumpkin varieties share a few key traits: dense,...
Read guide →Natural Pest Control for Pumpkins: What Actually Works
If you've grown pumpkins for more than a season, you know the feeling: you check the vines one morning and something's wrong....
Read guide →Cucumber Beetle Control in Pumpkins and Squash
Cucumber beetles are among the most destructive pests you will encounter in pumpkins and squash. They feed on leaves, flowers, and stems,...
Read guide →Squash Bug Prevention: Identify and Stop Them Before They Spread
The squash bug is patient. It shows up quietly in May, tucks its copper-brown eggs under your pumpkin leaves, and disappears before...
Read guide →How to Grow Chirimen Squash: The Rare Japanese Kabocha Heirloom
Chirimen squash is one of those varieties that rewards patience. Give it the right soil, the right season, and enough room to...
Read guide →How to Hand Pollinate Pumpkins for Better Fruit Set
If your pumpkin vines are covered in flowers but fruit isn't developing, hand pollinating pumpkins is likely the fix you need. It...
Read guide →How to Save Pumpkin and Winter Squash Seeds (And Actually Have Them Germinate Next Year)
Every fall, I watch gardeners pull beautiful heirloom pumpkins and winter squash from their vines and wonder: what happens to those seeds...
Read guide →Vertical Gardening with Squash: A Complete Trellising Guide
If you have ever looked at your backyard and wished you had more growing room, trellising squash might be the answer. Growing...
Read guide →Sucrine Du Berry Squash: Growing the Rare French Heirloom in Kansas
Sucrine du Berry is not a common name in American seed catalogs, and that is exactly the point. This elongated French heirloom...
Read guide →How to Protect Pumpkin Seedlings from Late Frost
Every Kansas gardener knows the feeling. You have babied your pumpkin seedlings through weeks of indoor starting, finally got them in the...
Read guide →Direct Sowing Pumpkins: When and How to Plant Seeds Outside
If you started seeds indoors back in April, you already know the impatience of watching cotyledons strain toward a grow light. But...
Read guide →What Is Cucurbita Moschata and Why Does It Matter?
If you have ever grown a butternut squash, a Seminole pumpkin, or a Jamaican tropical pumpkin, you have already grown a Cucurbita...
Read guide →Butternut Squash Growing Guide: From Seed to Harvest in Kansas
If you want to know how to grow butternut squash in Kansas, here is the honest answer: start with the right variety,...
Read guide →Mulching Your Pumpkin Patch: Materials, Timing, and How Much
Mulching your pumpkin patch is one of those tasks that pays dividends all season long. Applied at the right time, a few...
Read guide →Best Pumpkin Varieties for Small Gardens
If you've ever looked at a standard pumpkin catalog and thought, "my backyard is not a farm," you're not alone. Most pumpkin...
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