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Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

I have been thinking about something I read here that went along the lines of 'pick the most filled out seed'. Makes sense, so that got me thinking wouldn't it be nice to know which seed has the most in it? So I stole husbands black powder gram scale and weighed all my seeds from each individual pumpkin. I also went ahead and weighed the ones people have graciously sent me. (A little over 300 seeds total between my Bell and the few people have given me)
What I found is that the average AG seed weighs around .65 grams. The more 'full' a seed appeared in any given pumpkin, the heavier it was in most cases. Out of the 300+ I weighed, there were a few from each pumpkin that were .80 grams and up....would you pick these 'heavy' seeds from each individual pumpkin to plant over all the others?

1/6/2014 8:02:11 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

No, or not until, I personally knew what each seed's genetics were....here's what I mean...if I had a 1725 and it weighed .67 grams....and I had 30 310 1997 Moore seeds, that weighed 1.25 grams ea., I would certainly plant the 1725!!! If you are limited to yer own seeds only, it might be a theory to investigate...but that certainly is not the case here. I certainly think that genetics are more important than seed weight! Peace, Wayne

1/7/2014 1:35:23 AM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

I agree, wholeheartedly Wayne, my apologies for not stating so up front. What I meant is if you have multiple seeds of different 'good' genetics, would you pick the heaviest seed for each one over all others. say you had 3 of a 2009, 4 of the 1725, 3 of the 2032. 1 seed out of the 2009 was heaviest, 1 out of the 1725 group was heaviest, and 1 out of the 2032 group was heaviest: would the weight determine the priority of planting? Ie- would you pick the heavy seed in each group based on weight and weight alone? Obviously you would want to plant each one of these, but would the heaviest seed for each group likely be 'better' than the others in the same group?

1/7/2014 6:36:04 AM

Germany

The 1495 Stelts seeds are pretty small and they are "white seeds" (those without the additional thick tan layer) and therefore they would probably always fail your examination (but we know that they can grow beasts of pumpkins).

1/7/2014 7:42:54 AM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

I have somehow failed to clarify......
Lets pretend I have 4 2009 seeds. Would you choose the heaviest of the 4 seeds over the 3 other seeds that didn't weigh as much?
For example:
4 2009 seeds weighing: .68,.67,.54, and .87. Would the seed weighing .87 be the 'best' seed out of the 4???

1/7/2014 3:22:41 PM

Germany

Could be, but doesn´t need to be. The weight difference could arise from all sorts of differences between the seeds. Within the differen seed sites in a pumpkin seeds develop to slightly different size, even though the genetics could be of similar quality. That said, you could have a big seed with only 70% cotyledon material inside and still being slightly heavier than a smaller but completely filled seed, but the latter could emerge from the seed shell easier than the former and probably has a better start right after germination.
In the highly unlucky case of having to decide which one out of four 2009 Wallace seeds I had to grow I would probably start at least two of those seeds and stick with the better plant (and keep the smaller plant as a back-up in a larger pot for another two weeks).

1/7/2014 3:40:17 PM

Upa Creek, Mo

I see what your saying and could be, or that seed might just have the biggest cots aka most salad. Would have been interesting for someone like Gerhardt who grew like 8 of the same seed this year to do that ahead of time and then report fruit weights at year end.

1/7/2014 6:56:13 PM

Minnesota

I would pick the heavier bigger seed, or I would not pick the light, small, discolored seed!

1/7/2014 10:54:43 PM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

I was thinking about planting 1 'heavy' seed and 1 'light' seed from my own.....no shortage of seeds there, and see if one pumpkin is bigger than another. Thanks for all the replies guys! I'm going to keep track of which seeds came from where in the pumpkin....seems I read something about the closer to the stem end of the pumpkin the 'better', *lack of terminology* or more 'good stuff' the seed gets.

1/8/2014 7:19:57 AM

50 Acres

In my opinion, you must remove the outer shell to get the true weight of the seed material... Jim

1/8/2014 9:29:35 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

I really don't think it has anything to do with the final results of what the plant produces. It may be a charecterstic of the seed. Just like big cots, or triple cots.

1/8/2014 12:58:36 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Then that seed needs to be placed in the ideal environment to acheive maximum results

1/8/2014 1:00:53 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

LB, Plant the pretty one!!!LOL Serious, no way to tell!!! Pap, told us years ago...it's a crap shoot!!! Any two seeds from the same pkn. can & will produce different cousins!!! Hoping this doesn't help, cause it usually doesn't!!! Peace, Wayne

1/8/2014 11:40:58 PM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Wayne. *Death stare*

1/9/2014 11:26:30 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

LB, the next thing I would do, is to send the light ones to me!!!! Seriously, I will send them to the KGPG, and...Hopefully raise our prize structure next year!! Know what I mean? Peace, Wayne
PS...I seem to also be in your same "bunch o catastrophies type o time frame!!!! 2nd year was my exaggeration!!! 310#!!!! Hope to due better this year!!!

1/12/2014 12:26:57 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Also, curious as to where in the cavity the light & heavy ones came from? Is there a correlation? Where & weight...near the shell heavier?, or near the center heavier? Lot's of work for someone!!! Peace, Wayne

1/12/2014 10:44:50 PM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

Im in a hobby with a bunch of smart asses. Thank god!

1/15/2014 2:28:04 PM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

And the 710 is up! Hot damn, I was beginning to worry!

1/18/2014 2:25:01 PM

Germany

:-)

1/18/2014 2:59:10 PM

The most important factors being unknown. I still think it wise to control those things we can. Seed size being one. And seed shape being one you may not have considered but charles wilber mentions in his book "how to grow world record tomatoes". All things being unequal there is noone I'm aware of who would think that planting the smallest seed would confer any advantage

2/14/2014 11:50:15 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

give me an itty bitty 1495 stelts and I will prove you wrong Finch..Size of seed has nothing do do with output...it is a charecteristic of the plant, just like white seeds or tan seeds

2/14/2014 1:33:37 PM

Berne, Indiana

Shannon is right there's a large egg and small egg both Taste the same.

2/19/2014 1:48:12 PM

Colorado

If I had 4 of some famous seed I'd tend to try to sprout the two heavier ones.I'd still double plant them.You cant tell which one has the best set of genetics by weighing the seeds. At some point you have to role the dice and go with a given seed or seedling. Your method may chose the most likely to sprout.

3/24/2014 6:36:39 PM