How To Tell If Your Pumpkins Are Overcrowded (And How To Fix It)

Few plants are more synonymous with autumn than pumpkins, whether you're growing a pumpkin patch for jack-o'-lanterns or dreaming of delicious pies for the holiday season. But if your pumpkins are overcrowded, you'll be disappointed in the results. Pumpkins grow on vines that spread quickly and need warm soil, lots of sunshine, and room to expand. Because of this, they can easily become overcrowded — a condition that limits airflow and access to the sun. When too many pumpkins are competing for limited resources, they're susceptible to producing small fruit, diseases such as powdery mildew, and pests such as squash bugs and squash vine borers. 

Overcrowding, and the resultant pests and diseases, can limit the amount of nutrients your pumpkins receive, which can cause their leaves to turn yellow. This is one of the main indicators that your pumpkins are overcrowded. Other signs to look for include powdery white spots on the leaves, wilting vines, and egg masses or adult bugs on the underside of leaves. But don't worry — overcrowding is one of those avoidable mistakes everyone makes when growing pumpkins. We'll show you how to fix it this year and avoid it next year.

One of the best ways to tell if your pumpkins are overcrowded is by measuring the distance between plants. Your vining pumpkins should have 50 to 100 square feet per hill, and each hill should be spaced 5 to 6 feet apart, with 10 to 15 feet between rows. If you don't have this much room, you can plant compact varieties such as bush, semi-bush, or miniature pumpkins. These smaller pumpkins need only between 2 and 4 feet of space between plants and 4 to 8 feet between rows. Dwarf or patio varieties can even be a good choice for container gardening with pumpkins.

Another tipoff that your pumpkins are growing too close together is yellow leaves, which indicate your plant isn't getting the nutrients it needs. Look for any overlapping or crowded vines. They may seem fine now, but when they start producing fruit, there won't be enough space for them all to thrive. 

You should also closely examine each plant's leaves and stems for any signs of pests or fungal infections. These issues are much more common among overcrowded pumpkins that don't allow sufficient airflow and sun exposure.

The best fix for pumpkin overcrowding is careful planning before you start planting. You can also position your pumpkins on the outside of your garden, since few other plants need as much room. This way, you can direct them away from your other plants so they won't crowd them out. However, even if you didn't follow these guidelines and your pumpkins are already planted, you can take steps to alleviate overcrowding. 

If the vines start encroaching where they shouldn't, trim them back. It's important to avoid pruning leaves on the vines you don't cut back, since the pumpkins use these for energy. With vines you want to save, redirect them away from other plants by using stakes to temporarily fix them in place. For hills that have too many plants, thin out the weaker ones. Smaller pumpkin varieties can be trellised to grow vertically using pantyhose for slings to support the weight of the fruit.

Once you have several pumpkins growing on a vine, pinch off any new female flowers that appear to keep them from siphoning off nutrients. The female flowers are the ones that develop into pumpkins. You can differentiate them from the male flowers by the tiny, green pumpkin at the base of the flower. The male flowers don't have this growth. By focusing on fewer fruit per vine, you'll get bigger, healthier pumpkins. These will be the perfect plants to preserve and save pumpkin seeds to plant next year.