Quick question
 

When harvesting seeds from fresh veggies (bell and jalapeno peppers, in
this case), how long do I need to dry the seeds before planting?

Quick question
 

Shanghai wrote:
When harvesting seeds from fresh veggies (bell and jalapeno peppers, in
this case), how long do I need to dry the seeds before planting?

i've had sprouts from bell peppers sprout
in the worm bins so i'd guess it doesn't
matter.

if the seeds are fully developed in the
peppers then they should be ok.

i've had plants like butterfly weed and
beans sprout right in the pods if enough
water manages to get in there and the temps
are right.


songbird

Quick question
 

On Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:56:13 -0500, Shanghai
wrote:

When harvesting seeds from fresh veggies (bell and jalapeno peppers, in
this case), how long do I need to dry the seeds before planting?

There's a difference between "fruits" (anything where the seeds are
inside the item you eat - squash, cucumber, tomato, melon, etc) and
"vegetabled" (chiefly leafy stuff, roots, tubers, or immature flowers
such as broccoli). The former can be planted wet, because seed
maturity is reached when the fruit itself is ripe. The latter though,
you need to wait until the seeds dry on the plant, otherwise they're
not actually mature.

The premise of drying seeds (after they're mature) is for _storage_
(so they don't host molds and rot). You can take a fresh, mature seed
and plant it.

I too have had some ripe vegetables (er, fruits), particularly winter
squash, with sprouted seeds inside - the seed cavity is a moist
environment, not dry. When you plant seeds, you keep the soil moist,
not dry...

Speaking of winter squash, I still have 150-200 lbs of Rouge Vif
D'Etamptes ("Cinderella" Pumpkin) in my garage. Last year, we
finished the last of the prior year's harvest in June, about the time
I was seeding the 2011 garden crop.

Cinderella Pumpkin (was: Quick question
 

Sean Straw wrote:
....
Speaking of winter squash, I still have 150-200 lbs of Rouge Vif
D'Etamptes ("Cinderella" Pumpkin) in my garage. Last year, we
finished the last of the prior year's harvest in June, about the time
I was seeding the 2011 garden crop.

ooh! :) *all ears*

what it is like and how do you store it?


songbird

Quick question
 

On 3/27/2012 9:33 AM, Sean Straw wrote:
On Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:56:13 -0500,
wrote:

When harvesting seeds from fresh veggies (bell and jalapeno peppers, in
this case), how long do I need to dry the seeds before planting?

There's a difference between "fruits" (anything where the seeds are
inside the item you eat - squash, cucumber, tomato, melon, etc) and
"vegetabled" (chiefly leafy stuff, roots, tubers, or immature flowers
such as broccoli). The former can be planted wet, because seed
maturity is reached when the fruit itself is ripe. The latter though,
you need to wait until the seeds dry on the plant, otherwise they're
not actually mature.

The premise of drying seeds (after they're mature) is for _storage_
(so they don't host molds and rot). You can take a fresh, mature seed
and plant it.

I too have had some ripe vegetables (er, fruits), particularly winter
squash, with sprouted seeds inside - the seed cavity is a moist
environment, not dry. When you plant seeds, you keep the soil moist,
not dry...

Speaking of winter squash, I still have 150-200 lbs of Rouge Vif
D'Etamptes ("Cinderella" Pumpkin) in my garage. Last year, we
finished the last of the prior year's harvest in June, about the time
I was seeding the 2011 garden crop.

Thanks for the replies. In the dirt they go!

Cinderella Pumpkin (was: Quick question
 

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:06:49 -0400, songbird
wrote:

Sean Straw wrote:
...
Speaking of winter squash, I still have 150-200 lbs of Rouge Vif
D'Etamptes ("Cinderella" Pumpkin) in my garage. Last year, we
finished the last of the prior year's harvest in June, about the time
I was seeding the 2011 garden crop.

ooh! :) *all ears*

what it is like and how do you store it?

It is the large round red-orange (thus the "rouge" in the French name)
pumpkin that has been flattened in the middle. Harvest when ripe,
leaving a 3-4 inches of stem on (never cut squash stems short if you
intend to store them or they'll start rotting near the stem). Wash
off, then wipe down with a dilute bleach solution, which helps to
mitigate bacterial issues on the skin while in storage.

Store in a cool dry location. My garage is fine, though I could store
them in the barn. Periodically check and rotate storage in case
something starts to go bad. I usually plant a 6-12 or more plants of
this variety each year. I have others of course, but this is such a
great pumpkin, it's always there. We'll let the kids etch patterns
into the skins of a few while they're still yellow-orange, which
causes them to scar over as they ripen - rather than growing somethign
we've got to cut open and waste (though yea, we still do that with
some others once in a while - the kids like "Dill's Atlantic Giant",
which is worthless as an eating pumpkin).

They are excellent roasting pumpkins - cut them into large wedges
place into a roasting pan and smear them with some olive oil and bake
them (which my wife deals with - I don't know the specifics of temp or
time on this). Resulting roast squash is good as a side with a meal
(a smidge of butter perhaps), or for pumpkin risotto, squash soup
(delightful, especially during the winter months), pies, etc. When we
use in squash soup, we usually pull a few pieces out a bit early from
roasting so they're firmer when we blend the soup base.

A medium "fig" (or teardrop) shaped red-orange pumpkin called
"Potimarron" is also a good cooker, but I didn't find it to be all
that prolific.

For something different, you could try growing Blue Hubbard (which has
a grey-blue skin). That's capable of producing some whoppers, though
the skin and flesh is quite firm which makes it more of a chore to cut
up. Makes great pies, but I didn't find it to be as good for soup.

Cinderella Pumpkin (was: Quick question
 

Sean Straw wrote:
songbird wrote:
Sean Straw wrote:
...
Speaking of winter squash, I still have 150-200 lbs of Rouge Vif
D'Etamptes ("Cinderella" Pumpkin) in my garage. Last year, we
finished the last of the prior year's harvest in June, about the time
I was seeding the 2011 garden crop.

ooh! :) *all ears*

what it is like and how do you store it?

It is the large round red-orange (thus the "rouge" in the French name)
pumpkin that has been flattened in the middle. Harvest when ripe,
leaving a 3-4 inches of stem on (never cut squash stems short if you
intend to store them or they'll start rotting near the stem). Wash
off, then wipe down with a dilute bleach solution, which helps to
mitigate bacterial issues on the skin while in storage.

we haven't had rot be a problem yet, but
we've not grown many kinds yet either.


Store in a cool dry location. My garage is fine, though I could store
them in the barn. Periodically check and rotate storage in case
something starts to go bad. I usually plant a 6-12 or more plants of
this variety each year. I have others of course, but this is such a
great pumpkin, it's always there.

is 60-70F cool enough?

how long does it take to go from seed to harvest?
we get pretty long days here (mid-michigan). if the
harvest date is into the fall far enough then the
storage temp wouldn't be too hot, but if they are
ready in late August we might still get pretty
high temperatures.


We'll let the kids etch patterns
into the skins of a few while they're still yellow-orange, which
causes them to scar over as they ripen - rather than growing somethign
we've got to cut open and waste (though yea, we still do that with
some others once in a while - the kids like "Dill's Atlantic Giant",
which is worthless as an eating pumpkin).

we don't have that kind of situation so
it would be for long term storage of eating.
it also helps if the seeds are good to eat
too.


They are excellent roasting pumpkins - cut them into large wedges
place into a roasting pan and smear them with some olive oil and bake
them (which my wife deals with - I don't know the specifics of temp or
time on this). Resulting roast squash is good as a side with a meal
(a smidge of butter perhaps), or for pumpkin risotto, squash soup
(delightful, especially during the winter months), pies, etc. When we
use in squash soup, we usually pull a few pieces out a bit early from
roasting so they're firmer when we blend the soup base.

*nods*

most times here for cooking we clean them out
and then microwave them with a little water in
them. steamed i guess. quicker than baking or
roasting (but i do like the carmelization that
happens with roasted squash a lot).


A medium "fig" (or teardrop) shaped red-orange pumpkin called
"Potimarron" is also a good cooker, but I didn't find it to be all
that prolific.

we need about two to three dozen storable squash or
pumpkins per season. though at first when they come
in storage isn't as big a requirement (we'll eat them :)).


For something different, you could try growing Blue Hubbard (which has
a grey-blue skin). That's capable of producing some whoppers, though
the skin and flesh is quite firm which makes it more of a chore to cut
up. Makes great pies, but I didn't find it to be as good for soup.

we have grown Hubbard before as they are what we
buy at times at the store and then the seeds go
through the worm bins and some sprout when the worm
poo is used in the gardens. we call these volunteer
squash, but they are mostly volunteering to be eaten
anyways. :)


songbird

Cinderella Pumpkin (was: Quick question
 

On Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:39:35 -0400, songbird
wrote:

is 60-70F cool enough?
For storage? Seems a bit on the warm side (heck during the winter our
house is between 55 and 65 most of the time), but that should be okay.

how long does it take to go from seed to harvest?

I believe it's supposed to be about 90 days. They do well enough in
the climate where I'm at - about 40 miles north of San Francisco. We
get some hot days and absolutely no rain during the summer, but as
squash vines develop very large leaves, the squash themselves are
often in some amount of shade.


Open the first two links below in separate browser tabs, and scroll to
the bottommost image of each (there's only two images on each page),
and switch between the tabs -- that's just _10_ days of growth.
You'll also note that the topsoil is DRY. While I drip irrigate much
of my garden, most of these were simply done in small 'wells', filled
with shredded straw as a mulch (when the plants are young) - see the
"berminator" link for how I make them (prior year had been done by
inverting a large terra cotta pot and pushing soil up to it, but the 5
gallon bucket with the bottom cut out works really well.

http://www.professional.org/snaps/in...ning/20100903/
http://www.professional.org/snaps/in...ning/20100913/


http://www.professional.org/snaps/in...05_berminator/


we get pretty long days here (mid-michigan). if the
harvest date is into the fall far enough then the
storage temp wouldn't be too hot, but if they are
ready in late August we might still get pretty
high temperatures.

Then you plant them a bit later, no problem. There's usually
somewhere you can store things that's cool - make a root cellar?

we don't have that kind of situation so
it would be for long term storage of eating.
it also helps if the seeds are good to eat
too.

Yes. Those are, BTW edible and quite meaty in the Dill's Atlantic
Giant pumpkin, even if the pumpkins are not. The potimarron makes for
small seeds, not so good for roasting.

I have a squash type that Jerre Gettle (of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)
recommended to me for use as a seed squash - "Lady Godiva". The seeds
are virtually devoid of shell (it's more like the film you find on
dried squash seeds), so are edible without shelling.

roasting (but i do like the carmelization that
happens with roasted squash a lot).

Indeed, this is a huge plus with the flavours - the squash becomes
sweeter.

we need about two to three dozen storable squash or
pumpkins per season. though at first when they come
in storage isn't as big a requirement (we'll eat them :)).

I had a very prolific Delicato squash a couple seasons ago (it's in
the background of the above images - the vines are to the right of the
folded-over kiddie gate (used as a short trellis for something else),
and extend clear over to the handful of corn plants* - it was over 12
feet across. One day, it started withering up, and I found that a
gopher had decimated the roots. That was drip irrigated in a well as
described above, and although there were MANY developing squash on it
that were aborted because the plant dies, we still managed to harvest,
as I recall, _32) squashes in the 1.5 - 2 lb size from the thing.
Those, like butternut, store extremely well.


*birds decimated my germinating corn earlier that year - I've since
gone to germinating in a screen-covered planter and xplant the corn
after it's a bit more hardy - 3-4" tall shoots.

Cinderella Pumpkin (was: Quick question
 

BTW, in the periodic check of things, found a couple that were
starting to turn, so brough them in from the garage, cut off the
failing parts and roasted them last night. Wife has made a large
pumpkin pie, and has, I kid you not, about 5+ gallons of pumpkin
puree. Freezing some, making squash soup with some (roasted corn and
bell peppers, carmelized onions and garlic, diced bacon, etc).

Can't wait for supper...

When the peppers mature, most change red in color. Wait until the entire pepper changes before you pick it off the plant. Cut the pepper in half and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds on a newspaper or screen to dry. It is better to use a screen to dry your seeds on, as it will give you adequate ventilation on both sides. Paper towels, paper plates, and newspapers tend to stick to the seeds making them harder to remove.

Cinderella Pumpkin (was: Quick question
 

Sean Straw wrote:

BTW, in the periodic check of things, found a couple that were
starting to turn, so brough them in from the garage, cut off the
failing parts and roasted them last night. Wife has made a large
pumpkin pie, and has, I kid you not, about 5+ gallons of pumpkin
puree. Freezing some, making squash soup with some (roasted corn and
bell peppers, carmelized onions and garlic, diced bacon, etc).

Can't wait for supper...

:p


songbird