Pumpkin Seed how to germinate/plant Zone 6b?
I roasted a rather large and healthy pumpkin and removed the innards kept some seeds, curious as to how to go about with the germinate and plant these seeds.
Posted Feb 15, 2022, 12:58 AM UTC
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I did this once the seeds germinated fine but the plants weren’t anything special. They were slow to grow and never put out many flowers despite my efforts fertilizing. Squash vine bore eventually killed my 2 plants but it didn’t seem like they were going to be producers. It’s worth a shot to see if you can have better luck then me but if your looking for a decent harvest then picking up a pack of seeds from the store might be a safer option
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Sheesh, between the rabbits and deer now the bore! Thanks for the heads up👍
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Look them up because I’m in 6a too and I have issues with them every time I don’t net my plants. They’re my gardens #3 most annoying pest behind the deer and groundhog good luck
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Plant 3-4 seeds in a little mound, space the mounds a few feet apart, all after the last frost date. They need lots of space, but will happily climb a (very sturdy) trellis.
If the fruit you get from the kept seeds is BITTER, don't eat it and toss it. The bitterness means there's chemicals you don't want to ingest. This often happens when the parent plant is pollinated with a different cucurbit (all squash, cucumbers, pumpkins and melons can hybridize).
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This… This is knowledge
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I did buy a couple of plants from Wally World couple of years back. Planted them several feet apart. It was 1stbweek June. Kinda late I thought my kids were into it for school etc. They did grow and spread out. Had a little fence built they blew right through it and that’s when the rabbits and deer did their thing. Only ended up with a couple of pumpkins. Did some research and with your guys/gals pointers thinking about germinating some seeds and see how it goes👍
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Awesome! I grew pumpkins for the first time this year and it wasn't a HUGE yield but for my tiny garden and 2 people eating them it was a lot.
A good thing to do is lift the fruit off the soil so they don't rot (you can just put like cardboard under them). Mine really liked crawling over my driveway for that reason, the cement was nice and dry for ripening. Thats another reason they like trellises too.
Squash borers hit at a certain time of year so I've heard people try to plant earlier or later than is advised so they miss the big swarm, but I haven't tried that yet. Some varieties of cucurbits are more resistant (butternut squash is one).
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👍
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I testing viability of some older delicata squash seed right now, what I found in my research was to wet a paper towel put a seed in, fold it up and put it in a plastic baggie, leave it in a warm ish place indoors and wait.
If it sprouts I'll put it in a pot, let it grow a bit indoors under lights and then once the weather is warm enough, harden off the plant slowly and then plant in my garden.
I like to hand pollinate to ensure I get more fruits. When a female flower is open I locate a male flower, grab a small paint brush/q tip, rub it on the stamen of the male flower and pollinate the female flowers.
Pumpkins and all squash can have a few problems depending on where you live. I have difficulty with powdery mildew ( I make a spray bottle with part buttermilk and part water and spray leaves when effected, it seems to help) I've also heard that some areas have a heck of a time with squash bugs (I don't have these in my area so I'm no help there)
Good luck!
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I like to hand pollinate to ensure I get more fruits. When a female flower is open I locate a male flower, grab a small paint brush/q tip, rub it on the stamen of the male flower and pollinate the female flowers.
You don't need the brush. Usually there are way more males than females so just cut off a male, cut off its petals and rub it directly onto any open female flowers. If there are multiple female flowers just tap gently on each in turn and then go round and rub more thoroughly.
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Totally, that works too
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Just FYI squash seeds are often weird hybrids.
Anyways, you're best off Googling "how to grow pumpkin" and read an actual guide.
Thanks eventually I will I did them from packets just never from the actual gord