pumkin seeds

[hyacinth_1]

Can anyone tell me please how to dry and look after some pumpkin seed I have acquired from abroad. I would like to know also how to grow them? Are they like squashes we have in England (to grow) any information would be appreciated.
::)Jude

[hyacinth_1]

[galina]

I think you bought pumpkins abroad and want to save seeds from them.  You didn't buy seeds.  Did I understand that correctly, Jude?

The usual reminder - all members of the pumpkin/squash family are very promiscuous and what you get from the seeds inside the pumpkins you bought may not be the same as the pumpkin you have now.  And if you bought it from an area with very different climate, the seedes may even have problems producing well at all in cool Blighty.

Otherwise, cut pumpkin open and scoop out seeds.  Place them on a paper plate or similar, pick out the stringy pumpkin fibres that grow around the seeds, place them on a windowsill, dry for several weeks, then place them in a paper bag in a cool and dark place.  One test you can do with pumpkin seeds is to bend them.  If they flex, they are not yet ready, if they snap in half they are dry enough.

Good luck and don't worry a crossed pumpkin seed will still produce a pumpkin, just not necessarily what you are expecting.  Grow them as you do any other squash/pumpkin.

[hyacinth_1]

Thanks for getting back so quickly, yes I have some from inside the pumpkin and have to take them home.  Hopefully they will take next year.  I do not mind if they a not exactly the same as I have tasted, it's just the idea of part of your holiday growing next year. :D Jude

[galina]

Thanks for getting back so quickly, yes I have some from inside the pumpkin and have to take them home.  Hopefully they will take next year.  I do not mind if they a not exactly the same as I have tasted, it's just the idea of part of your holiday growing next year. :D Jude

I get it.  Just pick out the seeds and put them onto paper towelling, a few extra layers of paper around them, then place inside a sock and they should survive the trip just fine.  Obviously take tje seeds out as soon as you are home, unwrap and dry further.

A lovely idea to take a bit of your holiday back with you.  Wish you good luck with the project.

[Squash64]

It would be interesting if you could take a photo of the pumpkin before you cut it up, and then take another one of the pumpkins that grow from the seeds next year.

[goodlife]

Oh..that is such a fun..you are going to end up with something totally different..quite likely ;D But what is better suveneer than that..and it's free ;D
Yes, photo is really good idea..who knows, they might have grown hole field full of same pumpkin so you might end up getting true to type seeds ;D

[gwynnethmary]

I really like to eat the pumpkin seeds you can buy at the supermarket.  It occurs to me that i might be able to eat the seeds now reposing inside the butternuts on my windowsill!  Is this possible, and would I just dry them in a slow oven or something?

[goodlife]

Yes you can eat those..and roast them too if you like..but they might have quite hard outer casing which may need peeling first..but it is better than chewing nails when you don't have much to do.. ;D

[Squash64]

I really like to eat the pumpkin seeds you can buy at the supermarket.  It occurs to me that i might be able to eat the seeds now reposing inside the butternuts on my windowsill!  Is this possible, and would I just dry them in a slow oven or something?

It's funny you should ask about this because my daughter told me today how much she enjoyed butternut seeds. She just washes them and roasts them with a small sprinkling of salt.  She eats them whole, they are not as hard as pumpkin seeds.  I haven't tried them yet but there is no shortage of butternuts here  ;) so I will.

[Jeannine]

Taking a picture of your pumpkin or squash may be a clue to us  identifying it for you..this would help with growing tips for next year.

May I ask what part of the world did you buy it?

XX Jeannine

[Vinlander]

I really like to eat the pumpkin seeds you can buy at the supermarket.  It occurs to me that i might be able to eat the seeds now reposing inside the butternuts on my windowsill!  Is this possible, and would I just dry them in a slow oven or something?

The seeds of all the edible cucurbits are themselves edible, and you can try them as they are - they don't need to be bone dry - but what you are really looking for is either a seed with a chewable shell (of any size), or a really large seed that makes it worth the effort of getting through an unchewable shell (though some people and even entire cultures - like Greece - seem quite happy to shell tiny seeds not much bigger than a courgette seed - presumably they just like to keep their hands busy while watching TV or whatever).

The third way is to grow hull-less seeds - but they tend to be less tasty - on the basis that if you breed too much for one thing then flavour tends to go out with the bathwater (to mix metaphors). That doesn't stop me trying new ones just in case...

You might also find that strongly roasting various types helps - worth experimenting - it might make the softer shells more brittle and therefore chewable, it might make the harder shells easier to remove so it's worth shelling smaller seeds.

It might even make hard-shelled kinds threshable? anyone tried this??

Incidentally roasted-pumpkin-seed oil is just the most delicious thing - especially on rice salad. Unfortunately it seemed to disappear off the shelves when the recession hit - very hard to find at any reasonable price (was £12 - £16 a litre anyway).

One more thing - pumpkin-seed butter is a really nice change from peanut...

Cheers.

[saddad]

HSL have a pumpkin called "Lady Godiva" because the seeds are "hull-less" and so good for eating.. anybody tried them?
???

[goodlife]

Yes..I grown them and the seed are easy and plenty of them..but the flesh of fruit itself is very bland and not much fun for eating. I don't normally use the flesh at all..I let chickens deal with it after I have scooped the precious seeds out ;D

[grannyjanny]

Sorry to hijack this thread but has anyone got a nice recipe for roasting squash seeds. I am getting quite a collection ;D. I hope there isn't any blood in the last lot as I nearly chopped my finger off trying to slice an onion squash for tea, mine not his ;D ;D ;D.