I know this sounds strange, but I am just throwing it out there as a way to plant a few extra vegetables such as pumpkins. I have a 20 x 40 ft area that has 12 inches of gravel above topsoil. My question is can I dig a hole 12 inches deep (to get past the gravel), get a decent size pot and cut out the bottom, submerge it into the hole, fill it with compost and what not and plant a pumpkin in it? My goal is to allow the pumpkin roots to grow down to the soil at the bottom of the pot I cut the bottom off of. I was reading that pumpkin vines need to grow on soil to set new roots. If this is the case that could not happen here as there would be gravel all around them. Please let me know your thoughts. I really appreciate it.