Planting Pumpkin Seeds

[Rat Rod Mac]

My kids just finished carving their pumpkins and want me to plant the seeds so that have a pumpkin patch next year. Do I plant the seeds now or put them in a coffee can and plant them next spring. If put in a coffee can until next spring is there anything that has to be done with them to keep them in good shape? Thanks. RRM

 

[Mousefield]

We plant ours in the spring. After they are air dried for a few days we keep them in a dry place and in a paper bag . They like rich soil so some people will plant them in their compost pile.

 

[jinman]

Don't put the seeds in any storage container until they are completely dry. If they are damp, they will probably mildew and mold. When dry, you can mix them with a bit of cornmeal and store them away. The cornmeal will inhibit any fungus growth. If you want, add a little Sevin dust into the bag to make sure weevils don't get your seeds. Do not plant your pumpkins too early in the spring or you will have pumpkins in August rather than October. Wait at least until the end of May or the first of June. Expect 120 days to harvest. Plant in raised beds or hills spaced about 6' apart. Thin to a couple of plants per hill and then side dress with fertilizer (not grass fertilizer with weed killer) or use a liquid fertilizer like Miracle-Gro. Keep the weeds cleared out and the plants watered as required. Watch your pumpkins grow and harvest when the plants start to die away from the mature pumpkins.

 

[wjoerob]

We planted pumpkins a little early this year, and had ripe ones in August. Also had some come up in a pasture with sheep and cows, who wouldn't eat them. Came from a neighbor heaving their pumpkins in there to feed the animals last year! Turned out pretty good, too.

 

[ToadHill]

Some seeds need to go through a process called stratifacation. That is they have to be exposed to cold for a period of time before they will germinate. That's usually several weeks at about 40 degrees F. It can't hurt to put them in a bag and set them in your refrigerator for about a month.

 

[deputy11]

We usually spread the pumpkin seeds on newspaper and then rearrange/turn them for several days until good and dry. Put them in a paper bag for the winter and in the spring they are good to go. Just be sure they have completely before bagging them. We do the same thing with watermelon.

 

[sweettractors]

Some seeds need to go through a process called stratifacation. That is they have to be exposed to cold for a period of time before they will germinate. That's usually several weeks at about 40 degrees F. It can't hurt to put them in a bag and set them in your refrigerator for about a month.

I remember that process. There was a song about it. "I can't Get No stratifacation" by the Rolling Stones. Ken Sweet