We might be at the beginning of summer, but gardening is all about planning, and this month it's time to prepare for Halloween. Yes, you heard us right.
Although there are a lot of summer gardening jobs to get done this time of year, thinking ahead and sowing seeds for autumn harvests should also be at the top of your to-do list. Whether or not you've grown pumpkins from seed before, it's a great way to provide yourself with hearty squashes in time for soup season and, of course, bragging rights that you grew your own Jack-O-Lantern.
Halloween and autumn may feel far away; however, Monty Don says now is the time to sow pumpkin and other squash seeds to ensure you're not disappointed when harvest time does finally come.
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Pumpkins and other squashes are a great choice for vegetable gardening for beginners, but they do require a little extra space once they start to grow. If you have the room, then you can easily add the vibrant veggies to your patch, but you'll need to start now.
"It's now time to sow pumpkins and squashes. I do this in pots, and in fact, a deep pot is a good thing because that allows the plant to develop without potting it on," starts Monty, speaking on BBC's Gardeners' World.
"Put two seeds in each pot, one of which you intend to remove, leaving the strongest in place. This may seem wasteful, but actually it guarantees you have good, strong plants," he suggests.
If you don't have many seeds to spare, only sowing one seed per pot is absolutely fine too; you'll still have successful seedlings.
Before you sow them, pumpkin seeds, along with other squash seeds, need a little prep to help them germinate successfully.
"Soak them for about 10 minutes to absorb water, and then put them somewhere warm to germinate. And the warmth is essential. They will not germinate if it's cold," points out Monty.
"Then they should be ready to plant out in about a month or so's time," he finishes.
Monty also recommends sowing the seeds on their side rather than on the flat, as this will stop them rotting and help them germinate properly.
Growing your own pumpkins is a fantastic, sustainable garden idea, with so many squashes wasted and overproduced in the month of October alone. And when you're done with your Jack-O-Lantern come November, you can use the leftover pumpkin to enrich your garden soil and collect the seeds to grow next year's batch.
