After enjoying delicious pumpkins, do you get the queasy feeling that the pumpkin seeds are too good to throw away? Then simply plant the seeds in the bed or in the tub. So there is a rich harvest.
Cultivation indoors for vital pumpkin plants
On average, a pumpkin takes more than 100 days to ripen. Under the local climatic conditions, the culture quickly comes under time pressure. Knowledgeable hobby gardeners prevent this situation by preferring the pumpkin seeds behind glass. Such a measure creates an advantageous growth advantage compared to direct sowing.
- The time window for sowing opens in mid/end of April
- Soak the pumpkin seeds in warm water for 24 hours
- fill small pots with nutrient-poor seed soil
- Place a pumpkin seed flat, approx. 2 cm deep, in the substrate
- moisten carefully, cover with foil or place in the greenhouse
With a constant temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, growth is now proceeding rapidly. Germination begins within 1 week. This is the signal to place the seedlings lighter and a little cooler at 18 degrees Celsius. After a total of 4 weeks, each pumpkin seed has turned into a strong little plant that now wants to go into the bed.
Plant out after the ice saints
If there is no longer any danger of ground frost from mid-May, the pumpkin plants can go outside.
- weed thoroughly in a sunny location with nutrient-rich, humus-rich soil
- enrich the soil with compost and horn shavings
- Dig planting holes more than 1 meter apart
- Insert the pumpkin plants together with the seed soil and water them
- climbing varieties receive a climbing aid
On the balcony, large-volume containers with 60 to 90 liters can be considered. A water drainage hole in the ground, over which a drainage made of potsherds or gravel is spread, is of central importance. Suitable substrate is nutritious and well drained. Commercial vegetable soil is improved with perlite (€37.51) or sand.
tips and tricks
The germination mood of pumpkin seeds can be noticeably increased with a trick. Take each kernel between two fingers and roughen the shell with a file or sandpaper. Then soak the seeds in a 2% potassium nitrate solution for 24 hours instead of in pure water. Potassium nitrate is available in any pharmacy for little money.