Cucurbita pepo 'Atlantic Giant' - Pumpkin [British Grown]

This vegetable plant will grow you a pumpkin ready for harvest in autumn; flowers in summer are solitary, star-shaped and gold in colour. Half hardy in the UK, it cannot stand temperatures below freezing.

Grow your own pumpkin to carve this Halloween with this 'Atlantic Giant' pumpkin variety! These pumpkins can grow to enormous size, and can be carved for food as well as for decoration- and this variety can even be entered into exhibition when grown to full size! Pumpkins are a type of winter squash, with a distinctive round shape and orange colour. These have been grown from seed indoors and can be planted out once the risk of overnight frost has passed; in the meantime keep them somewhere warm and bright inside. Make sure you harvest before the first frost in autumn, and allow the fruit to fully ripen and colour on the vine (harvest as late as possible but before any frost!). To help pumpkins keep for longer, lay them out in the sun for 7-10 days either outside, in a greenhouse or in a cold frame. This will harden the skin and help it keep for 3-6 months; store somewhere cool & dry with good ventilation.

Scientific Name
Cucurbita pepo (gourd pumpkin) 'Atlantic Giant'

Common Name
Giant Pumpkin

Origin
Native to Central and South America

Pruning Tips
Pruning is not required, though of course it's a good idea to harvest the fruit when ripe in autumn! If you have limited space, you can prune any stems that grow too long; training up a sturdy structure will also help in this case.

Wildlife Value
This plant is not native to the UK; the solitary bees that specifically pollinate it are native to the US. However, honey bees and bumblebees can be attracted to pumpkin flowers. Growing companion flowers will help attract pollinators to your pumpkin flowers.

Positioning
Position in full sun with shelter from the wind. The fruit will need plenty of sun to ripen!

Water
Pumpkins need lots of moisture to grow, but won't do well if the leaves, flowers or fruit is sat on top of soggy soil. make sure when you water, it sinks into the ground and reaches the root; one way of doing this is sinking a small plant pot into the ground next to the plant and watering into that.

Soil
Ensure your soil is moist but well-draining so the vines and fruit won't be sat in any puddles. Acidic to neutral soil works best. It's also a good idea to support developing fruit on a tile, brick, or piece of wood so it isn't touching the soil; this will help it stay intact and attract fewer greedy pests.

Food
When the first fruits start to swell, feed regularly with a high-potassium fertiliser to help them grow! It's also a good idea to add fresh compost or fertiliser to the ground before planting them out, and/or adding mulch around the plant once it's in the ground; keep moist mulch slightly away from the stem.

Pet-safe
Yes; this plant is edible, but don't eat if your crop tastes bitter. Can have negative effects on pets and humans in this case, especially if eaten in large amounts.

Sprouts Top Tips
When deciding when and where to plant your pumpkin, think carefully! It will need lots of sun to ripen, but shelter from wind and bad weather; it appreciates moist soil but cannot sit in soggy ground; and, of course, it will need plenty of space to grow! Additionally, this plant is not frost hardy, so it will thrive best somewhere indoors in the sun until the risk of frost has passed (here in Bristol, this is around the end of May).

Extras
Pumpkins are actually botanically fruits, as they grow from the flowers and have seeds inside!