Big Rain Means No Fertilizers for Pumpkins

We got 2.25 inches of rain here in Denver over the last few days. If your pumpkin didn't split it could be good news for growth over the next few days. When the sun hits the plant today the plant will turn all of that water into growth. You will want to give your pumpkin no fertilizers over the next few days (a great tip from The Wiz, the local president of the RMGVG pumpkin growing association). Sun + tons of water + fertilizer can create an ideal situation for pumpkins popping. Dill's Atlantic Giant variety of pumpkins grow so fast that they can actually explode under the right conditions. The inside of the pumpkin can actually out grow the skin of the pumpkin and the result is an explosion at times that can send seeds 5 feet away (or at the very least a season ending split). We shade the pumpkin skin with a sheet so it doesn't get hard from the sun and give it calcium to help prevent splits. I would wait until about Wednesday or until your ground is dried out until you give your pumpkin fertilizers again.