Growing pumpkins: seed preparation

I love eating pumpkins, and at first I hated the pumpkin leaves soup, especially when taken with ugali but then COVID-19 happened and then everything changed, and now I’m eating them like no one’s business. Nutritionists and doctors highly recommend pumpkin and their leaves to be included in our diets. That’s the reason those leaves are sold like medicine in our markets.

A few months back in Nairobi my sister bought 3 tiny pumpkin leaves along with her groceries for Kshs. 10, and they were barely enough for one person. So for a household of three adults, you need Kshs. 50 worth of leaves. With help from me and my brother Vitalis, we helped her set up a small balcony farm where she now grows her own pumpkins and other veggies.

As you can see today nothing is taken for granted, and as a farmer doing it as a business, you learn to see an opportunity in everything. When I returned home from Nairobi, I carried along some of her pumpkin seeds, motivated to plant my own. And that’s what I did.

While looking for a perfect site for planting them, a friend gave me an idea to intercrop with passions so they can act as cover crop. He is the same guy from Sesame farming.

You can read: Sesame farming and health benefits

I prepared my farm between the rows of passion fruits and then went to our local market where I purchased a few more seeds to add on the ones I already had. I also purchased more seeds with the hope of having different pumpkin varieties. And I tell you the price was unbelievable. A dozen seeds were being sold at Kshs. 50. When did that happen? Pumpkin seeds used to be shared for free!

Anyway I started by sorting the seeds and picking only viable ones which I dried again in the sun for a day just to be sure before planting. The project did well and for about a week now I have been selling pumpkins each at Kshs. 150. I’m making a minimum of Kshs. 300 every day. That’s something, considering how hard it is to come by money with this current economy. If you have your small space, your kitchen garden, include pumpkins and you won’t regret.

Actually you can prepare your pumpkin seeds, if you don’t want to buy like some people do. As a matter of fact is the best way of planting the variety you want. As you know there are many pumpkin varieties out there: both small-sized and large-sized; sweet and some not sweet; oval and round shaped, etcetera.

What you need to do if you determined to make your own seeds is go to your grocery and buy a couple of mature pumpkins. Cook one at a time and during preparation, put aside a couple of seeds. Do that to the rest of the pumpkins as well and at the end of the day you will know the best ones to plant.

How to prepare pumpkin seeds

Now that you have decided on the type of pumpkin you would want for your farm or garden, I’ll take you through simple steps on how to prepare your seeds well before planting. Seed dressing is important to avoid planting seeds that will only end up rotting in the soil. Here’s how:

1. Cleaning the seeds – after separating the seeds from the pumpkin, you can either directly sun dry them or wash them with water.

2. Drying the seeds – take a sieve or any porous material and use it to air the seeds to remove all the moisture.

3. Sun dry – after removing all the moisture from the seeds, place them in the sun to dry. 2 – 3 days are enough depending with the intensity of the sun.

4. Storage – after the seeds are dry enough, you can sow them, otherwise you can store them in a cool dry place away from pests to plant later.

On planting, you can choose to sow the seeds directly in the farm, or prepare a nursery and plant the seedlings. It is the same way watermelons are grown.

Well, I hope that helps you prepare your own seeds for growing your own pumpkins and save on buying from the market for your own consumption, and you can even sell the surplus like I’m doing. All the best.

For any question regarding this post or feedback, kindly leave it in the comment section.