Grocery store pumpkin seeds

20 years ago

Hello

I'm a relatively new gardener. I planted some Jack-Be-Little pumpkins last year on a whim and they did poorly. I planted them midseason and they got powdery mildew :-(

Anyway I'm planning on planting pumpkins next year too (in a different location of course). I wondered if the seeds from store bought pumpkins would be okay to use? Assuming that they are, I have read about cross-pollination and freak fruit forming when pumpkins mix with gourds.

So, my plan is to dry out all the Jack-O-Lantern seeds and start a couple in winter in the basement under fluorescent lights. I know what pumpkin seedlings look like, but what do gourd seedlings look like? Would I be able to clearly tell if my seeds will produce pumpkins or freak fruit? Or do pumpkin and other gourd seedlings look too similar to distinguish at the seedling stage?

Any help would be appreciated, TY in advance!

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Comments (3)

Tomato_Worm59
20 years ago
You could plant some to see what happens, but a lot of commercial pumpkins are also F1 hybrids. To make sure you are getting pure seed, buy the seeds and know yur variety or buy only from a local grower who can tell you what kind of pumpkins or gourds he/she has.
veggiecanner
20 years ago
pumpkins and gourds won't cross polinate,
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HoosierCheroKee
20 years ago
Posted by: veggiecanner on Sat, Oct 15, 05 at 19:27: "pumpkins and gourds won't cross polinate,"

Some small, soft shell gourds (Cucurbita) will readily cross pollinate with squash and pumpkins. Large, hard shell gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) like bird house gourds are a different species that will not cross pollinate with squash or pumpkin.

As a matter of fact, I saw a whole bin of wacky lookin' pumpkin/ornamental gourd crossbreds for sale yesterday at a pumpkin farmer's stand. Most of them looked like misshapen orange or green pumpkins with leprosy or terminal bubos. A right nasty lookin' lot of Jack-o-lanterns.