Pumpkins are a very versatile fruit that is commonly thought to as a vegetable. We often find pumpkins in the grocery store that we cant find seed packets for at the nursery or plant store. We like to try to grow them ourselves when we do find ones that we like at the grocery store. Sometimes we get wonderful pumpkins that are a lot like the pumpkin we got the seeds from, and sometimes we get mini versions of that pumpkin. The best results have come from organically grown pumpkins which brings us to the first tip.

What Kind of Pumpkins to Buy
It is important to try to get organically grown pumpkins when planing on planting the seeds. If you use non-organically grown pumpkins you stand a chance of nothing growing from the seeds. This happens because the pumpkins can be treated to keep the seeds from producing fruit an or chemicals or pesticides effecting the seeds.

Preparing the seeds
Throughly wash the seeds making sure to remove any thing that can make the slippery and dry them off with a towel. Once all the seeds are washed and dried you need to extracted the seed that inside of the outer shell. A good way to do this without accidentally cutting or damaging the seed inside is to use a nail clipper.

Extracting the Seeds
To remove the seed clip a small piece of the shell at the bottom side where the side is the most round and starts to curl around to the side. Start cutting small pieces being careful not to cut to deep. Once you start to see the inside of the shell start to use your fingers or fingernails to pry the shell open, and remove the seed.

Germinate the Seeds
Once the seeds are removed place them in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag or a seeds tray. Place the seeds in a warm dark place to germinate. The warmer the better and make sure to plant a few more seeds than you need in case some of them were damaged and done germinate.

Transplanting the Seedlings
Once the seeds have germinate move them to a seed tray if using a paper towel. Move the seed tray to a warm sunny spot until the seedlings are strong enough to transplant to bigger containers or outdoors. Pumpkin seedlings can often be transplanted 6 weeks after planting them from seed. Warmth and light can effect these times so use your better judgment when transplanting them outside.