It may seem like an odd time to think about pumpkins with summer around the corner, but now in June is the last time you can plant this fruit if you want your own fairytale garden patch. It can be a struggle to grow pumpkins in the UK as they need plenty of space that can quickly be taken up by weeds due to our rainy weather.
However, Benedict Vanheems, a gardening expert from Grow Veg, has shared a simple way to ensure your pumpkins survive is simply add cardboard to the soil. He said: “The first job is to prepare the ground, but I’m not going to dig it – that’s far too much like hard work! Instead, I’m going to smother the grass and weeds with a few layers of plain brown cardboard. “
Adding cardboard before planting is a simple technique called no-till gardening that saves both time and energy, as no digging is involved.
Cardboard helps smother weeds germinating in the soil to prevent overcrowding in a pumpkin patch, to help your bright orange fruits grow to their full potential.
Growing pumpkins on cardboards holds more moisture in the ground to prevent water from being lost during the hot summer months, while also improving the soil health to attract more earthworms and other beneficial microorganisms.
This is a natural and sustainable gardening practice that helps keep weeds away, so you are more likely to get a higher harvest yield once Halloween arrives later on in the year.
How to make a pumpkin patch using the no-till method
To begin, prepare your pumpkin patch by weeding out the area or mowing any grassy spots, as it will make it easier to lay down the cardboard.
Make sure there are no staples, tape or any other plastics and metals on the cardboard, as these can harm the soil.
Then, simply add the cardboard to the ground. Make sure the cardboard is overlapping and there are no gaps the weeds could creep out.
Water the cardboard deeply to help break it down and retain moisture. Next, cover the cardboard in manure or compost.
Adding manure or compost as a mulch makes a sort of makeshift bed that further stops weeds from reaching the pumpkins and gives the crops the nutrients they need to grow.
Your patch will then be ready to grow lots of plump pumpkins that you will be able to carve, decorate or even bake into pies once we head into autumn.
Benedict said: ”The cardboard will rot down over the course of the summer, by which time the grass beneath will have died off. A few weeds might snake up through, but just pull them out when you see them – there won’t be many.”
