Well, it’s been an interesting start to my growing season this year.  I did an experiment this year starting my seeds.  I placed the seeds in a wet paper towel and placed the seeds in a sandwich bag.  I also kept the temperature of the room between 85-90 degrees.  You can visit this page to get additional information.

The experiment worked very well and the seeds sprouted the tap root within 3 days.  I planted them on a Friday night and had tap roots by Monday.  However, when I took the seeds and planted them in the soil, all the plants died.

I think my fertilizer experiment this year harmed the seeds versus creating a strong root system.  I was able to only get half the pumpkin seeds I planted to germinate this year.   The photo below are from the following plants:

1308 Todd 10
1101.6 Lancaster 05
690 Grande 10
856 Hoffman 10
1167 Courson 10
1117 Conley 06

I planted some backup seeds, but they have not sprouted yet.

The other problem I experienced this year was my space heater went crazy on me.  I came home from work and the room temperature was 105 degrees.  This temperature cooked all the tender leaves that had started and the plants don’t look too healthy.

Does anyone have a good recommendation on a space heater that is temperature controlled?

Pumpkin Plants For 2011