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Usa,pa,westsunbury

i was woundeeing how to get the things to germinate i've gone through three sets of seeds now
what is the secret , thanks jim

7/9/2005 4:55:35 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Did you chip part of the seedcoat off? A nail clipper comes in handy for this.

7/9/2005 6:01:58 PM

Topsfield, Ma.

They can be a little difficult to germ. I sanded the edges just like AG seeds, soaked overnite, and stuck them in peat pots with seed starting mix on a germ heating mat set around 85*. A week or longer is not unusual it seems.
Best of luck! Duff

7/9/2005 8:54:42 PM

Montoursville, PA

My experience has indicated that fresh seed, in the first or second year germinate without fail. I soaked them just like pumpkin seeds for four hours and the germinated and emerged in four or five days just like pumpkins.

My germination box was at eighty degrees. The planting medium was Pro Max just damp to the back of the hand. No ferts were used. No sanding or chipping was done.

Three of four germinated when direct seeded but it took ten or twelve days to get emergence. This was a cold year to attempt direct seeding.

I set out the inside germinated seedlings on May 15th. The just set there untill warmer weather sent them into the grow mode. My vine only gets five or six hours of sunlight but it is now up there fourteen feet moving off the tower and into my apple tree. Up to this point I removed all secondarys and all flowers.

The ground in the planting hole was loaded with manures last fall and compost this spring. This is my first year to have a plant managed and looking good at this hour.

Last year's jungle of secondarys and to much growth from two vines produced five nice ones way late in the season. However one did grow into an 86" beauty. It contained no good seed because, of the late pollination and lack of maturing time.

On Weigh Off day three feet was my largest. The rest of the growth was, in the three weeks after first week, in October.
They are a fun grow.

7/9/2005 9:53:16 PM

Usa,pa,westsunbury

ok thanks ,good luck

7/10/2005 1:21:15 PM