Lisa Ely Gardens
  • Home
  • Lisa's Gardens
    • Recipe for Fun >
      • Beverages
      • Desserts
      • Main Courses
      • Sides and Salads
      • Snacks and Appetizers
    • Kid Genius
    • Garden Spot
    • Tip of the Week >
      • Subscribe to Lisa Ely Gardens Tip of the Week
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • In The Media
  • LEARN, GIGGLE & GROW
  • Home
  • Lisa's Gardens
    • Recipe for Fun >
      • Beverages
      • Desserts
      • Main Courses
      • Sides and Salads
      • Snacks and Appetizers
    • Kid Genius
    • Garden Spot
    • Tip of the Week >
      • Subscribe to Lisa Ely Gardens Tip of the Week
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • In The Media
  • LEARN, GIGGLE & GROW

Pumpkin Seed Harvesting

10/22/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​There's a lot one can do with pumpkins, including carving, eating, decorating and displaying them. But how much do you and your kids really know about the round, orange items that seems to be everywhere this month of October?
 
​Before your start carving your jack-o-lantern, play a bit of pumpkin trivia with your family. Making a guessing game about how many seeds are in a pumpkin.  Guess a number before you actually count.
​Do you even know the answer without guessing?
 
The number and size of seeds in a pumpkin varies depending on the pumpkin size and other variables, such as pollination. To get a rough estimate of how many seeds the pumpkin contains, count the number of sections in the pumpkin and multiply by 16.
Now it’s time to think about what to do with the seeds.  Of course, roasting them is really good. ​
Picture
Check out the quick snack recipe LINKED HERE for a unique twist on the traditional roasting method.
We like to save a few for our next year’s garden.  Saving the seeds of pumpkins is not too hard, even for those who are just thinking about gardening for the first time.  A lot of us first thought about doing this when our kids were in kindergarten. This is a favorite fall activity.  The key to saving seeds is making sure you store them correctly until they’re ready to plant next spring.
​What’s Needed:
·        A large spoon
·        A medium-sized bowl
·        Colander
·        Paper Towel
·        Wax paper
·        Baking sheet
·        Zipper bag
·        Permanent marker
 
Here’s what you need to do:
STEP 1: 
Separate the seeds from the pulp.  This is an oogey gooey mess that is almost as fun as finger painting in my opinion.
 
STEP 2:  Rinse the seeds in a colander. Be sure to get any extra pumpkin gunk off the seeds.
 
STEP 3:  Use a paper towel to blot the seeds dry.
 
STEP 4:  Spread the seeds out on wax paper and leave them out to dry all night. The wax paper is important to keep paper material from sticking and dying onto the seed.
 
STEP 5:  Line the seeds on top of a cookie sheet lined with paper towels and store for at least a week, if not more.  Put the seeds in one layer.  Be sure to store the seeds in a dry and cool place. We hide our on top of a cabinet. If they start to smell they didn’t dry enough and have started to mold.  Chances are they have gone bad and you’ll want to try again next year.
 
STEP 6: Your pumpkin seeds are now ready to be saved for the next season. Use the template linked here to make a seed bag.  Be sure to include information like the type of pumpkin and date you stored them.  Kids should add color and think about how they would sell these seeds in the marketplace.  Grab a zipper bag and put the seed pack inside. It is recommended that you add a folded paper towel in the bag before zipping it, to absorb any moisture that might sneak in. Store the seeds in a cool and dry place where you will remember them next spring!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2019
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017

    Categories

    All
    Adventuring
    Art Projects
    Autumn
    Berries
    Beverages
    Brussel Sprouts
    Carrots
    Cilantro
    Cinco De Mayo
    Crafts
    Cucumber
    Desserts
    Dried Flowers
    Earth Day
    Entrepreneurs
    Experiment
    Fall
    Fiesta
    Finger Art
    Flowers
    Fresh
    Fresh Herbs
    Fruit
    FUN
    Fun Facts
    Games
    Garden
    Garden Decor
    Gardening
    Garden Markers
    Garden Spot
    Get Outside
    Growing Enthusiasm
    Halloween
    Harvest
    Healthy Eats
    Herbs
    HGTV
    Holidays
    Kid Fun
    Kids
    Kids Projects
    Landscape
    Lemonade
    Lemons
    Lettuce
    Lisa Ely Gardens
    Math
    Mint
    Mud
    Paint
    Parsley
    Pinterest
    Planting
    Plots
    Pumpkin
    Pumpkin Fries
    Pumpkins
    Rain
    Recipe
    Recipe For Fun
    Recipes
    Rock
    Rocks
    Salad
    Science
    Seasonal Activities
    Seedlings
    Seeds
    Sides
    Snacks
    Soil
    Spider
    Spring
    Squash
    Stones
    Strawberry
    Strawberry Lemonade
    Summer
    Summertime
    Sunflowers
    Superfoods
    Surveying
    Thanksgiving
    Tip Of The Week
    Today's Idea
    Tomato
    Vegetables
    Veggies
    Water
    Water Conservation
    Weeds
    When To Plant
    Yellow
    Zucchini

    RSS Feed

What families Are Saying

"OUR FAMILY loveS gardening together and we are always excited to see lisa when she visits our area.  her energy is endless and her ideas keep us playing in the garden all year!"
- TONY, SACRAMENTO, CA
​     

Contact Us

Picture

    Subscribe Today!

Submit