What do I do with pumpkin seeds (from a pumpkin), to be able to grow my own next year?

[lucysmam]

That's it really.

An idiots proof guide would be much appreciated as DD1 has just loved carving the one dp bought me, so thought we could grow our own for next year, giving us a project to do together & something at the end of it.

Thanks in advance for any tips

I did that last year but have been v disappointed with the results.

My bought seeds produced large plants with lots of fruit and I got 3 pumpkins per plant (pulled off lots of baby fruit to keep the remaining fruit big). the one from saved seed was small, weedy and only produced 2 fruit. Luckily they both survived but were very small and disappointing.

I'm not bothering this year, am roasting the seeds and eating them and have bought a 50p pack of seeds from the garden centre.

I bet you had F1 seeds which - magically - tend not to grow true second genertion, so you have to buy some more! Why shouldn't we keep seed of wht we had grown and regrow it again.

I avoid F1 like the plague, they are everywhere and often you have to read small print to know what you are getting.

nb pumpkins are slappers as well, and very happy to interbreed with anything squashy/pumpkiny/etc so can be a bit pot luck - but you might get a good one you never know. I have seen some very successful mongrel squashes.

THere are ways of breeding true, involving tying uyp the flowers to stop bees getting at them once you have hand fertilised, but maybe not worth it. Get a good non F1 seed next year.

I've no idea what the seeds where as the original pumpkin were given to me by a friend from her garden but I'd guess you're probably right.

Check out this thread for a BLUE one for next year and completely blow your friend away!

I am very tempted

So . . . now I'm well and truly confuddled by all that, would we be better off buying seeds? & if so, where from? All the garden centres are a drive away from where I live & I don't drive

check out link on the other thread, lots of nice mail order stuff on that site, no postage for orders>£6, yopu could do worse.

Mail order is a very respectable way of getting past the 2 or 3 comp[anies stocked by the garden centres at very high prices.

And, while you are getting pumpkin seeds, get some other stuff to grow so you get ADDICTED like the rest of us!
JUmp down that slippery slope....

thanks catinthehat. Will check it out when dd's are in bed. What's good to start with (that my nearly 4yo could do with me?)

Beans!
French beans, climbing beans or jolly old runner beans. Start off in a pot then put in a sunny spot & keep watered.

Carrots - maybe grow them in pots in compost at first.

Lettuces/leaves in pots

MAybe buy a tomato plant or 2 early summer & grow it on

Basically anything that a littly can pick wash & eat himself

YOu could also save a nice spud from your weekly purchases next February and bury it in the soil & see what happens.

Just a bog standard spud from supermarket? I'll give that a go with her, I'd be curious to see what it did myself!

Ta very much for the link & ideas, I'll be driving dp nuts now planning things to do for next year!