Nothing says October quite like pumpkins, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons has given you everything you need to get into the holiday spirit in their Halloween Fall update. Aside from all the decorations and events, you can also add a new addition to your garden: pumpkins! If you want to know how to plant and grow pumpkins to use as crafting materials for all the new Spooky Set items, consider this guide your Halloween treat.
How To Plant And Grow Pumpkins
The process of farming pumpkins isn't terribly different from other fruit (yes, pumpkins are actually fruit), as long as you have the 1.5 Fall Halloween Update installed. Once you have it downloaded, you can start your new pumpkin patch.
Purchase Pumpkin Seeds
The first step in growing anything in your garden is to get some seeds, and pumpkin seeds can only be purchased. You do have two options on where you buy them, though, and the prices will shift over time.
The most reliable source for pumpkin seeds, also called Pumpkin Starts, is at Nooks Cranny. Every day in the month of October he will sell them from his cabinet for 280 Bells each, or a bundle of five for 1,400 Bells.
If you're looking for a better deal, the alternative source you can go to is Leif's Flower Shop if he happens to show up on your island. He will sell Pumpkin Starts only during the month of October, but at a discounted rate of 140 Bells for one, or 700 for a set of five. If you're willing to risk it, you can get them half price this way, but either way they're not all that expensive.
Planting Pumpkin Starts
Once you've picked up your seeds, its time to get dirty and start planting. Take your seeds out and either place them on an empty tile of land, or shovel up a hole and plant them that way. Pumpkins can grow on any normal piece of land, so you don't have to dig or turn your land into dirt tiles if you don't want to.
Watering Your Pumpkin Plants
Pumpkins like a lot of water, so give them a steady stream while they're growing to maximize how many pumpkins each plant will produce. Pumpkin plants can grow anywhere between one and three pumpkins, but you'll only get up to three if you keep them nice and hydrated. Just like flowers, pumpkins will have a little shine to indicate that they've been watered. If you don't see that shine, give them an extra bit of water.
Harvest Your Pumpkins
Pumpkins have a four-stage growth cycle you can track. Each stage lasts for a day, meaning it will take four days before your pumpkins are ready for harvest. On the final day you are ready to collect your bounty of up to three pumpkins per plant. Harvesting also leaves the plant perfectly intact, so you're free to continue growing another batch right away.
There are four types of pumpkins you might find in your garden, despite them all coming from the same seeds. These color variations are random chances, but can all be used to craft the Spooky Set items just like any other pumpkin, only they'll share the pumpkin's unique color. Orange is the standard, and by far most common, but you might also grow some yellow, green, and white pumpkin too.