Grow Pumpkins From Seed

This is the third batch of pumpkin seeds I have collected this year. I hope that they will produce a bumper crop for us after they are planted. Where I live, near Melbourne, the seeds will be ready to go into the ground around October. Collecting and drying the seeds now will have them ready to go at that time.

I will be planting seeds I have collected from a Grey Pumpkin, Pink Pumpkin and a speckled cross breed pumpkin. All of them purchased at a Farmer’s Market where I spoke to the farmer about the produce.

Follow along to see how they grow. Growing pumpkins from seeds is not difficult (I am told!!!)

I am thrilled to be going into the next season of planting using seeds that I have collected from my own plants, or from organic produce. It is an economical and very satisfying way to grow your own fresh vegetables. We have had some changes in our family this month that means that costs need to be significantly reduced! Anything I can do to increase our vegetable production at a low cost is going to be beneficial for our new family budget.

I find pumpkin to be a very versatile ingredient and I love that they can be stored for a long period of time. I am hoping to grow enough pumpkins to last across the year, fingers crossed!! I am hoping to be thankful for this seed saving in the coming months…

Hints and Tips:

Collect only seeds that you know are from organic grown pumpkin
Wash and dry the seeds well
Store in a cool dry location until time for planting
Ensure the seeds are allowed to dry for a couple of weeks prior to labelling and storing until planting

Here are my steps to drying the seeds in pictures:

Wash the seeds

Pat the seeds dry with a tea towel

Dry on a tray for a couple of weeks in a sheltered position that gets some sun

Store seeds in a cool dry location, labelled with the storage date and variety name.

Have you saved your own seeds to plant in your garden? What seeds did you collect?

I hope to see you here tomorrow for Fresh and Fast Friday. Join in and link up your recipe that is cooked in 30 minutes or less.

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Catherine Rodie Blagg (Cup of Tea and a Blog) says:

July 26, 2012 at 1:52 pm

This looks like a nice little ‘project’ I can do with my little gardener. Thanks for the tips 🙂

yvette says:

July 26, 2012 at 7:31 pm

oOOoo my husband wants to do this!! Let us know how you get on!!

carmen says:

July 27, 2012 at 9:05 am

One of my favourite ways to grow pumpkins each year! Love it! Reminder I need to get those sorted again, thank you! 😀

Naomi says:

January 8, 2013 at 4:13 pm

I saved my seeds by accident! They went out in the compost, which got dug into the garden and then germinated!! All Queensland Blues until the other day a new plant turned out to be a Butternut. It’s like a lucky dip what ends up germinating from my vege scraps!!
These days I dry the seeds for eating, yummo!!