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Before planting my pumpkin seeds one time, I used what I thought to be a crazy far-fetched germination method which is filing the seed gently with a nail file before planting to make it sprout faster. It really does work but would be hard to do with smaller seeds.
Anyone else have success with this?
I clip my hard seeds with a nail clipper and then soak them. I soaked my White moonflower seeds two weeks ago but didn't clip them. Only one has germinated so far and they others aren't sprouting at all. I need to clip some and soak to get a better germination rate.
Filing or notching seeds is usually done with hard shelled seeds like Dor said
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I need to file quite a few seed species with hard/impervious outer coating!
Most of the perennials/shrubs/trees in the pea family all need to be scarified in order to speed up the germination process!
It is tedious, but it sure helps increase the germination rate and the speed, from several months down to a few days!
Make sure you do not do too much damage to the inner seed, you only need to abrate the seed coating!
If the seeds are tiny, I sow them in late fall and place them outdoors to expose them to oscillating temps, with germination in the spring!
I have a small pair of pliers that I use to hold the seed while I rub it with the a nail file. I apply just enough pressure on the seed to hold it in place, making sure not to crack the seed!
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By the way, pumpkin/squash/cucumber/zuccini seeds do not require filing since they usually germinate in a few days!
By the way, pumpkin/squash/cucumber/zuccini seeds do not require filing since they usually germinate in a few days!
Quite a few of the giant pumpkin growers advocate filing the seeds. I'm going to try it on the couple packs of proven big pumpkin seed I've got coming. At over $1 a seed I want to give the little buggers every chance.
That's not much money for giant pumpkin seed, some of which sells for ridiculously big money. It is, however, high money for me. I am fighting to stay away from growing giant pumpkins. I know myself well enough to recognize a possible obsession when I see one.
I'm going to try to improve on last year's biggie of 325 lbs. though. I have in mind making a frame to support what would effectively be a pumpkin
"snowman". I need a big one for the body as it has to be big enough to cut a window in the front, big enough to take a small TV or monitor. How cool would it be to have Halloween Town playing while the kids were coming to the door?
Thanks for all the great info. I wish I had room for pumpkins! Still looking for a place to put my berry bushes...
Hello, my name is Melissa and I am a seed filer
Sandpaper works good too. The only member of the cuke/squash family I use it on is luffas or other gourds like dipper, seems to speed things up a little. I sand the edge but not til I can see white, then soak til they sink then plant in newspaper pots inside. When they get maybe 2 week's growth on them they have to go out. Newspaper makes it easy, just ease the whole thing into a planting hole, the paper will rot away.
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Melissa
I have filed and soaked both. Just depends on the seed and the time of year I plant
We always soak corn, peas, and beans over night before we plant them
The luffas I mentioned earlier I decided to go ahead and plant. Soaked 4 seeds after scraping the edge. I thought they'd never sink. The water got cloudy after a couple days so I planted them in newspaper pots. They went outside into a 5-gal bucket when they started getting 2nd leaf. I will let them grow a little while longer and thin to one or two. They have a brick wall to grow next to, hope that will speed up growth. I think they originated in India, so some heat might be in order. Usually they take all summer before they bloom, then finall have a ton of flowers and little ones in Sept-Oct. We'll see huh?
Will you be making sponges from the luffa fruit?
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