Probably, it’s not even worth talking about the extreme usefulness of pumpkin, since everyone has long known its wonderful taste and positive effect on the human body. However, despite such fame, pumpkin is not found in every garden, because many gardeners do not really know how to grow it properly, while others simply do not want to “mess around” with the prickly curly pumpkin vines, which tend to “crawl” into the neighbor’s garden. vegetable garden, closely intertwined there with the local “inhabitants”. Of course, this may be a little inconvenient, but certainly this argument cannot be called valid for refusing to grow such a healthy vegetable.
Germinating pumpkin seeds
If you are not the “cowardly” type, you can safely try your hand at growing pumpkins. First of all, you will have to choose good seeds and start germinating them, which will ensure better seedlings. The only exception is the planting material of gymnosperm pumpkin, which is initially devoid of any hard shell.
As for all other seeds, preference should be given only to the largest of them, getting rid of all puny seeds. The most successful and popular way to prepare pumpkin seeds is to germinate them before pecking. To do this, planting material is soaked for 2–3 hours in warm water a few days before planting, after which it is wrapped in a damp cloth and left in this form. The signal for the end of the process and the arrival of sowing time is the pecking of seeds. At the same time, it is worth noting that soaking pumpkin seeds is worth not only in order to ensure better germination, but also in order to protect the plant from pests, since soaked seeds lose their taste and become completely uninteresting, including all kinds of spider bugs.
Germinating pumpkin seeds is far from the only stage in preparing planting material for planting. So, before planting the seed, you can significantly increase the level of cold resistance of plants, for which you will need to harden the hatched seeds. For this purpose, at the stage of wrapping in a damp cloth, the planting material is additionally kept in the refrigerator for a week, not forgetting that the temperature must certainly be variable - for the first 10 hours it is kept at 18-20 ° C, after which it is lowered to 1 -2°С for 12 – 14 hours and so on in a circle.
In addition, there are a number of other techniques that allow you to prepare pumpkin seeds for sowing:
— Warming up. The cheapest and most acceptable option that you can resort to is solar heating of the seeds. To do this, it is enough to spread the planting material in a thin layer on the windowsill and leave it in this position for 10 hours.
— Treatment of seeds with biogenic stimulants. This maneuver will help you significantly increase the germination and growth of plants, and will also have a positive effect on the yield of plants and their sugar content. As biostimulants, you can use aloe extract, salicylic or succinic acid, which is available to everyone, and from microelements you can choose boron, cobalt, zinc, copper and manganese.
— Seed dressing. This technique helps increase the cold resistance of plants. To do this, the seeds are soaked for 30 minutes in undiluted aloe juice, which also kills all bacterial and fungal diseases, or in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
— Hardening of seeds. This process can be carried out in two ways - short-term freezing and variable temperatures. According to the first method, the swollen seeds should be kept for three days in a refrigerator or snow at a temperature of -1 to -30C. Another method involves keeping the seeds for 12 hours in the freezer of the refrigerator and the same amount at room temperature for 5 days.
Sowing pumpkin seeds
The peculiarity of planting pumpkins is that the planting material should be planted directly into the ground, avoiding the stage of growing seedlings. At the same time, the area allocated for this crop must first be fertilized, for which you will need to use 2 buckets of humus, a glass of nitrophoska, half a bucket of sawdust and a liter container of wood ash per square meter.
Next, the entire area will need to be carefully dug up to a depth of about 50 centimeters, making beds about 70 centimeters wide. Pumpkin seeds can be planted both in an open garden bed and under a film. In any case, the holes should be made at a distance of 90 centimeters from each other; the depth of the recesses should be approximately 3 - 5 centimeters, into which each seed goes 2 - 3 centimeters deep. At the same time, it is worth sowing 2 - 3 seeds in each hole, leaving only one, the strongest, plant after germination.
Read more about this in the special article by Gardener and Gardener.
How to collect the best pumpkin seeds?
I must admit that harvesting pumpkin seeds is quite simple and all you need to do is just let the healthy, beautiful fruit ripen well, then open it, remove the seeds, free them from the remaining pulp and dry them until they flow well. The resulting seeds can be used for planting next year. However, it is worth taking into account the fact that all pumpkin plants, and this also includes zucchini, cucumbers and other crops, are very easily pollinated, so it is impossible to know for sure what will grow from the collected seeds.
Storing pumpkin seeds
If you still manage to collect the best pumpkin seeds, you should know how to properly store the planting material so that it does not lose its germination capacity. Of course, the grain is reliably protected from all negative environmental factors by the hard peel, but even it is defenseless at high humidity.
In view of this, it is clear that it is best to store pumpkin planting material in a dry place, choosing not the warmest “option”, since in just a couple of months the seeds may lose their viability. In addition, sudden temperature changes are very harmful to planting material. The best option for storing pumpkin seeds is a dry place with an air temperature of about 16 0C and moderate humidity. It is better to use paper or fabric bags as containers for planting material, which will allow the seeds to breathe.
Growing pumpkin is a very useful thing, because getting such a storehouse of vitamins that will literally saturate your body with useful minerals all winter is simply necessary. Well, what is it worth just because your caring hands will grow this vegetable? So, learn to “work with seeds” and the whole process will be as productive as possible!
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Summer residents and gardeners harvest pumpkin seeds for further consumption of this tasty and healthy product.
Pumpkin seeds are harvested on an industrial scale in order to obtain healing oil with unique medicinal and cosmetic properties. Let's learn how to provide yourself with a healthy dietary product for the winter by growing your own pumpkin crop or buying them at the market.
How to collect pumpkin seeds
To obtain selected pumpkin seeds, rich in vitamins and valuable microelements, you will need healthy, ripe pumpkins without signs of rotting or disease.
After cutting the fruits or purchasing recently cut pumpkins, we keep them in a warm place for 20 days. We do not delay this process, otherwise the seeds may germinate inside the fruit: this is why it is important to know when the harvest was harvested.
We collect seeds as follows:
- We cut the fruit with a sharp knife with a thin blade, but not in the middle, but slightly on the side, otherwise the seeds will be damaged. You can cut off the “lid” first to see how they are positioned.
- Remove the seeds by hand or with a spoon. When removing, we try not to damage the future delicacy: if the shell cracks, during drying the seed will dry out greatly, and cleaning it will cause a lot of trouble or will become impossible.
- We sort through the seeds, paying attention to density and color, since an unripe pumpkin seed will not produce a tasty and healthy delicacy. Achenes with nucleoli are usually plump and convex, and the pacifiers are easily squeezed between the fingers. The color of full achenes is usually whitish.
The seeds have been removed, all that remains is to find out how to quickly remove the pulp from pumpkin seeds.
As you can see, the seeds are well attached to the pulp. Drying them in this form is not recommended, since they will not be able to dry out sufficiently, and the raw seed will subsequently deteriorate and will be difficult to peel from the shell.
We clean the seeds from the pulp in this way:
- We put on thin rubber gloves
. If you don't protect your hands, they will turn orange for a long time and look sloppy. In addition, gloves will make the cleaning process easier, as they will not slip on a slimy surface. - Separate the pulp
. Squeeze the pumpkin pulp between your fingers and squeeze the seed into a bowl. The process is long, but cleaning the seed with bare hands would take even longer.
Before preparing dried pumpkin seeds for food, it is necessary to rinse the achenes, separating them from small fibers and mucus.
How to wash pumpkin seeds
- We put some of the seeds, peeled from pulp, into a colander (again, we use gloves).
- Place them under running cold water and mix with your hands. At first the seed will be slippery, as if soapy, but soon it will stop slipping between your fingers. This indicates that washing is complete and the seeds are ready for further processing.
- We do the same manipulations with the remaining pumpkin seeds.
After allowing the water to drain, place the raw material on paper towels, cover it with them, and press down lightly. The towels will absorb excess moisture and the drying process will go faster.
Attention:
During washing and drying, we try not to damage the seeds, otherwise all efforts will go to waste, and the result will be a product that is not suitable for consumption. It simply cannot be removed from the shell.
At first, it seems that preparing pumpkin seeds for subsequent drying and storage requires a lot of skill and too much time: it’s easier to buy ready-made dried seeds. But by being patient and trying to dry them yourself at least once, we get a cheap natural product: a store-bought one will cost several times more.
Pumpkin seeds are very tasty and healthy. They contain a lot of calcium, which has a beneficial effect on the skin, teeth and nails. Also, the seeds of this vegetable contain substances that help fight male sexual diseases at an early stage. The maximum concentration of nutrients is contained in the raw product, but such seeds cannot be stored for a long time, as they quickly begin to rot and deteriorate. The best way to preserve seeds for a long time is to dry them.
Of course, ready-made dry seeds can be bought at any store, but a product prepared independently will bring much more benefits to the body, since the drying process will be completely under your control. We will talk in detail about how to properly dry pumpkin seeds at home in this article.
The type of pumpkin does not matter when preparing seeds. You can use both table and fodder varieties.
Cutting the pumpkin in half reveals the seed chamber. The seeds are located in a bunch, and not throughout the pulp, as, for example, in a watermelon, so collecting them will not be difficult.
To dry the seeds from excess moisture, lay them out on paper towels and blot them with a napkin. It is best to leave them in this form for a couple of hours, and then proceed directly to drying.
Watch the video from the “AllrecipesRU” channel - How to remove seeds from a pumpkin and prepare them for further drying
Collection and storage of pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin is perhaps the only vegetable whose delicacy is not only its pulp, but also its seeds. Connoisseurs of pumpkin seeds plant special varieties that produce tasty seeds at the expense of pulp. In order for the collected seeds to be stored well, you need to take into account some features of their collection.
Interesting: How long can homemade cottage cheese be stored in the refrigerator?
How to choose a pumpkin for collecting seeds
If you plan to collect seeds from a pumpkin for further sowing, then in order to preserve the variety, the plant should be planted separately from other varieties to avoid cross-pollination. When self-pollinating fruits, use male flowers only from the same plant.
Pay attention to the inscription on the bag of pumpkin seeds; you can only get your own seeds from a variety; hybrids do not form full-fledged seeds that can reproduce the maternal characteristics of the plant.
Only fully ripened fruits are suitable for collecting seeds.
In order not to confuse the fruits later, use this advice: as soon as the first fruit is tied on the vine, mark it by tying a string to the stalk.
The first fruits produce the highest quality seeds for further planting.
Having collected seeds from such a fruit once, you will provide yourself and your neighbors with your own planting material for a long time.
How to collect and dry pumpkin seeds
To collect high-quality seeds from a pumpkin, you need to give it time to ripen. Immediately after harvesting the fruits, the seeds have not yet ripened.
If you plan to collect seeds from a pumpkin only for food, then you can do this at any time, a month after collecting the fruits. It is also advisable to have time to remove the seeds before March.
Carefully cut the pumpkins, cut out the seeds along with the pulp with a knife, and manually separate the pulp. Using a colander, the seeds are washed and laid out to dry.
To ensure that the seeds dry faster and do not rot, they are turned over for the first couple of days.
How to store pumpkin seeds
Dried seeds intended for eating and cooking are poured into glass containers and placed in a dry place.
Seeds for sowing are dried for a month and then poured into paper bags.
To increase the number of female flowers, use this advice: place the seeds intended for sowing on the battery.
How long do pumpkin seeds last?
Pumpkin seeds have a long shelf life, up to 10-15 years. The longer they lie, the more ovaries there will be on them, but they will take longer to hatch. This nuance must be taken into account when planting old seeds, planting them a week earlier compared to fresh ones.
You can read about which pumpkin varieties to choose for collecting seeds, which varieties have the most delicious pulp, and which decorative pumpkins will decorate a garden in a rustic style.
Having collected seeds from such a fruit once, you will provide yourself and your neighbors with your own planting material for a long time.
Methods for drying pumpkin seeds
On air
To do this, the raw materials are laid out in one layer on trays or flat plates lined with clean paper. Newspaper sheets are not suitable for drying, as printing ink is very toxic.
The container with seeds should be placed in a dry, warm and well-ventilated place. To protect the product from settling dust and insects, the trays can be covered with gauze cloth.
Natural drying takes quite a long time and takes approximately 15 – 20 days.
In the oven
Oven drying takes significantly less time. Moreover, you can dry using this unit in two ways:
- Clean seeds are placed on a baking sheet in one layer and placed in a cabinet heated to 60 - 80 degrees. To prevent them from burning, the contents of the baking sheet must be stirred every 30 minutes. The door is kept ajar. Drying time varies depending on the size of the seeds, but the average is 1 – 1.5 hours.
- The express oven drying method takes only 20 minutes. The seeds are exposed to temperatures elevated to 180 degrees.
Watch the video from the channel “Culinary News and Recipes” - Pumpkin seeds in the oven
In a frying pan
Drying pumpkin seeds in a frying pan will take no more than 15 minutes. This process requires your constant presence, as it requires constant mixing of the product. Dry the seeds over medium heat.
In an electric dryer for vegetables and fruits
Fill the grates with a single layer of pumpkin seeds. The temperature regime is set at 60 - 70 degrees. To ensure uniform drying, the pallets are periodically rearranged. If you miss this moment, the seeds on the lower tiers will burn, and the upper ones will remain raw.
In the microwave
Place a small portion of seeds on a flat plate covered with a paper napkin and place it in the microwave. The seeds dry in 2 minutes at maximum power of the unit. If this time is not enough, then the procedure is extended for another 1 minute.
Watch the video from the “Kukhmister” channel - How to quickly fry pumpkin seeds in the microwave
In a convection oven
Drying in an air fryer lasts 30 - 40 minutes. The blowing power is set to maximum, and the heating temperature is 60 - 70 degrees. To ensure good ventilation, the unit lid is left slightly open. If this is not done, the moist air will have nowhere to escape and the seeds will remain wet.
Pumpkin seeds, beneficial properties
How many vitamins do they contain? It’s even difficult to list everything. For example, pumpkin seeds contain vitamin K, which is involved in the human blood clotting system. Without it, our body will not clot blood normally. This alone speaks volumes about the benefits of pumpkin seeds.
They contain almost the most important vitamins A and E for us. These two vitamins have a tremendous effect on our health, on the condition of the body, on regeneration, on tissue renewal, on the skin. Vitamin A, among other things, affects the condition of our vision.
Pumpkin seeds also contain phosphorus, a substance without which our bones cannot exist. Without phosphorus, calcium does not function as it should. And our skeleton, without receiving the required amount of phosphorus, cannot be strong enough.
And finally, an absolutely outstanding beneficial property of pumpkin seeds, which I have already partially mentioned. This is the presence of zinc and legnan (legnin), which prevent excessive growth of prostate cells in men. Of course, eating pumpkin seeds will not cure an already enlarged prostate gland. But you can slow down this process a little. Unfortunately, it is hardly possible to completely relieve inflammation. Rather, recommendations for their use are more useful for young men, as a preventative measure. After all, the main property of pumpkin seeds is to prevent the development of prostate adenoma.
I would like to emphasize that when we talk about the health benefits of products, this never means direct treatment or withdrawal of medications prescribed by a doctor. This should be your way of life.
Boys, young men, young men, eat pumpkin seeds! Eat as many pumpkin seeds as possible, more often and regularly - from childhood to old age - your risk of prostate enlargement will be minimal. Such an unpleasant disease as prostate adenoma will bypass you.
Their regular use strengthens the gastric mucosa and has a negative effect on parasites, since the green seed shell contains an anthelmintic poison - cucurbitin. This poison is absolutely harmless to humans, but fatal to worms. True, I have not found scientific data on how many pumpkin seeds you need to eat to get rid of worms.
How to store dried pumpkin seeds
Dry seeds should be stored in a dark, dry place. Storage containers can be canvas bags or glass jars with tight lids. The shelf life of seeds is 1 year.
Do you want to grow proven pumpkin varieties on your plot? Then consider some rules for collecting and storing pumpkin seeds. We will tell you which ones exactly.
You should choose only healthy pumpkin fruits, uniform in color, correct shape and sufficient size. You should not add too much fertilizer to the soil under which are intended for collecting seeds. This will shorten the growing season so that the seeds have enough time to ripen.
Plant pumpkins intended for collecting seeds separately from other plants. If more than one type of pumpkin grows on the site, use artificial pollination to obtain seeds of the desired variety.
How to collect pumpkins?
Seeds should be collected from fruits that have ripened before frost and stored for storage. Keep the cut pumpkin in a warm room for about a month. But don't wait too long because the seeds may germinate inside the fruit. This primarily applies to early varieties, but winter pumpkins can last in storage for several months.
Cut the pumpkin, but not in the center of the fruit, but a little on the side so as not to damage the seeds. Remove the seeds, peel them from the pulp and rinse in cool water.
Select the best specimens (large, complete, without defects or mechanical damage), dry them in a warm and dry room.
Pumpkin seeds remain viable for about 7 years
Which pumpkin varieties are best for stocking?
Pumpkin has a thick skin, and therefore it is convenient to store for a long time. However, there are varieties that are best suited for stocking. These include large-fruited pumpkins (they are also often called table pumpkins):
- almond,
- mammoth,
- hundred pound,
- biryuchekutskaya 735,
- Mozoleevskaya,
- Gribovskaya winter.
Such varieties can be stored for up to 8 months, retaining all their properties - both taste and benefits. Small-fruited pumpkins are less resistant:
- white honey,
- nutmeg,
- turban-shaped,
- receivedmovid.
They remain fresh for only 3–4 months, but have a more pronounced and pleasant taste.
If you are storing pumpkins of different varieties for future use, cook and eat the small ones first.
