I planted five or six pumpkin plants in my town garden this year.
A couple were planted in a straw bale - my three week absence (a.k.a. lack of water) took care of those.
And I planted one in neat compost in a deep pot - right next to a sprinkler head LOL. (the little "wall" constructed behind the plant catches the water from the sprinkler and drops it into the pot - works perfectly :) RMan