Will seeds from a store bought pumpkin grow?

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So many folx have been asking if they can save the seeds they scoop out of their pumpkins to sow next season, which gives us such hope for the world! Whether pumpkins or winter squash, there are many things to do with the squash seeds you scoop, and saving seed (ironically!) is not at the top of the list, unless you know about its life history. Here&#;s a bit more of the story:

Why Home-Saved Pumpkin Seed May Not Grow True to Type

Many varieties are F1 Hybrids, which won&#;t grow true to type when saved. If you&#;ve bought your pumpkin from a grocer, farmer&#;s market or roadside stand, chances are good it&#;s an F1 Hybrid. So yes, they&#;ll grow, though the fruit they produce will most likely look nothing like what you&#;re expecting.

Even if your variety is open-pollinated and heirloom (like all of Fruition&#;s pumpkins), know all pumpkins will readily cross with other pumpkins and squash in its species, Cucurbita pepo, up to one mile. So unless you&#;ve grown the pumpkin and are confident it was isolated up to one mile from other pepos (or you hand-pollinated it), assume the seed has crossed and won&#;t grow true to type next season. Sigh.

If you&#;re up for an adventure and aren&#;t attached to the fruit being recognizable or delectable, save any and all seed! This is one of the ways new varieties are created in the world, which is so exciting as well as essential. Some people (like us!) save such seed intentionally as a means of cultivating greater diversity in the world&#;

&#;but if you&#;re attached to having orange jack o&#;lanterns and quaint acorn squash separate from your zucchini in seasons to come, you&#;re much better off sowing seed straight from the packet.

In brief, here are

Two Keys for Saving Pumpkin Seed:

• Knowing the genus/species of plants is key for seedkeeping! Most summer and winter squash grown in short seasons belong to one of three species: Curcurbita pepo, C. maxima and C. moschata. Pepo is the most diverse, including everything from zucchini to pumpkins, acorn to spaghetti squash, patty pan and delicata squash. And more! 

• Varieties sharing a species will cross up to one mile, requiring &#;isolation&#; to maintain seed that will grow &#;true to type.&#; This isolation can be achieved with distance (check in with your neighbors!) or hand-pollination, which I&#;ll share more about in another post. Indeed, hand-pollination is one of our favorite way to paint ~

So yes, savoring your squash seeds rather than saving them may be the highest and best use of all the winter squash seeds you scoop this season! They are packed with protein and high-quality oils, plus scores of vitamins and minerals. 

Here is the recipe we use:

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

Rinse your winter squash seeds thoroughly, removing all pulp possible. And Friends, don&#;t hesitate to savor your delicata, butternut, hubbard squash and beyond: each one unique, each one delicious!

Optional and AWESOME: For the most crunchy yet melt-in-your-mouth seeds, soak them in a salty brine (2 teaspoons of salt per cup water) 12 to 24 hours prior to toasting. It seems superfluous, and sure it requires a touch more planning, but trust us: the results will ensure you never skip this step again! Thanks to our friends at Stony Brook Wholehearted Foods for sharing their delectable brilliance with us.

1. Set oven to 350 F
   
2. Toss each half cup of seeds with one teaspoon of oil
   
3. Add salt, pepper and seasonings to taste
   
4. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
   
5. Roast for ~20 minutes, til seeds are golden and starting to pop, stirring them once or twice to ensure even roasting.

Here are a few of our favorite seasonings:

&#; Rosemary

&#; Curry

&#; Herbs de Provence 

&#; Red pepper flakes + maple syrup

&#; Za&#;atar (ground sesame, wild marjoram (also called za&#;atar) + sumac)

We love saving seeds, let us count the ways!

Sow Seeds & Sing Songs,

and the Many Beings of Fruition

After two years of growing my own pumpkin patch, I think I can consider myself a true &#;pumpkin farmer&#; now. Haha! Today I wanted to share how I save my pumpkin seeds for the next year&#;s pumpkin crop!

To see my tips on creating your own backyard pumpkin patch, and how to harvest & store your pumpkins to prevent rotting, go check out my posts HERE and HERE.

You can totally harvest seeds from your store bought pumpkins, but with that said, I have only harvest ones from the pumpkins that I grew from seed.

The first thing you want to know about harvesting seeds from your pumpkins, is that if you are growing a bunch of varieties (of any kind of squash) there is a possibility that the next generation of seeds may have gotten cross pollinated. So as long as you are okay with the possibility of having some wonky looking pumpkins, you can save your own seeds for next year&#;s garden.

Personally, I always try and hand pollinate my pumpkins to ensure that they stay the same variety, but since I grow so many kinds in one space, you never really know what you will end up with next year.

All my pumpkins are heirlooms. I grow the above varieties. When harvesting seeds, I usually pick the pumpkins that I liked the shape & color of, and harvest those ones for next years crops. When I grew pumpkins from those seeds, I noticed that those same characteristics were genetically passed down to the next year&#;s crop. So my big pink pumpkin with green spots produced seeds that yielded big pink pumpkins with green spots, etc.

If you really want to make sure that your pumpkins don&#;t cross pollinate, you can always put nylon over the female flower the day before it blooms, and hand pollinate it, avoiding the bee&#;s carrying other variety&#;s pollen over. Personally, I don&#;t mind them mixing.  The main reason I hand pollinate is because I want to ensure the success of my pumpkins growing & getting enough pollen to mature.

Step 1:

Pick the pumpkins you want to harvest seeds from. If you have multiples of the same type, I reccomend taking seeds from several of them.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of where to buy bulk pumpkin seeds for planting. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Step 2:

Cut your pumpkin in half.

Step 3:

Scoop out the guts of each pumpkin into a a colander or strainer. Keep each pumpkin&#;s seeds separate & write down the name/description next to each pile.

Step 4:

Wash the seeds in warm water. You want to get all that goo off.

When selecting the seeds, you want the healthy looking plump ones.  I also added a tiny squirt of diluted bleach to the water for any pumpkins that were on the verge of rotten (here&#;s to hoping those ones grow!)

Step 5:

Once washed off, pat them dry.

Step 6:

Space the seeds out (make sure they aren&#;t touching each other) and let them dry out for about a week.

If you are super organized, you can always take a photo of the pumpkin you were harvesting, and keep it with that pumpkin&#;s seeds for visual labeling reference.

Once fully dry, label some envelopes with the kind of pumpkin seeds you are saving, and put the seeds into the envelopes. Store them in a dry, cool place.

You can cook any seeds you don&#;t save!

One thing I like to do when saving my pumpkin seeds is cook the pumpkins & make them into pumpkin puree. It freezes very well, and is great for cooking, and even for feeding your dog.

For this method, I simply cut the pumpkins into chunks, put them into a pan with some water and cook in the oven until they are soft (like good baked potato!) Then I scoop out the orange flesh and put it in my kitchen aid mixer (or a blender) to get it nice and smooth.

I mainly use my pumpkins for decorating, but all pumpkins are edible, so I like to used some of them for thanksgiving cooking & baking.

With that said, if you have too many pumpkins to eat, then you can also feed them to farm animals. I don&#;t have chickens, but my friend does. So guess where all my pumpkins are going after I&#;m done with them. Haha!

One question I also get is how long pumpkin seeds will last. I&#;ve heard that they have a shelf life of 3-4 years. I&#;ve only personally planted the seeds from one year before. One good way to see if your pumpkin seeds are still viable, is to put them in a bowl of water. If they float, the will most likely sprout. If they sink, they are probably duds.

That&#;s it for now! Hope this post inspired you to save those seeds and try your hand at growing pumpkins.

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