I have some Heirloom Hubbard Squash Seeds that my mother gave to me to try and start. They came from her family farm in Maine and were dated 2001. I am sure that most people will say that they are not viable at this point but I have to at least try for my Mom. It would mean a lot to her if I could get these to grow so what I have done is placed 6 seeds on a moist paper towel and placed them into a ziplock bag. I did this about a week ago and so far two have sprouted. So I repeated the process with 6 more seeds as I have a very limited number of seeds left. How should I go about planting these once they have sprouted? when should I put them in the ground? Should I avoid planting them next to other varieties?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions/ advice.
Jason
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cuttingedge
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rainbowgardener
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Probably best to move them from the paper towel to a little pot of potting soil, because you have to get them off of the paper towel right away as soon as they sprout.
Once potted up they need to be outside if the weather is suitable or under lights.
Is NNJ North New Jersey? If so, I'm thinking your climate isn't that different from mine and it may be a little soon to put it in the ground. You want soil temp around 75 deg for that.
It doesn't matter about being planted next to other varieties unless you want to save the seed from them for next year. If you are saving the seed, then yes, you need to be careful about that, they can hybridize themselves.
Once potted up they need to be outside if the weather is suitable or under lights.
Is NNJ North New Jersey? If so, I'm thinking your climate isn't that different from mine and it may be a little soon to put it in the ground. You want soil temp around 75 deg for that.
It doesn't matter about being planted next to other varieties unless you want to save the seed from them for next year. If you are saving the seed, then yes, you need to be careful about that, they can hybridize themselves.
In my opinion, I would put the ones in the papertowels in the ground or in containers. I usually don't have luck going from papertowel to soil, but thats just me. I would try and germinate the seeds in a cup with my seed starting mix (equal parts=perlite, vermiculite,peat.)and I would plant a couple straight into the ground. After the seedlings are a desent size I would plant them, I have better results this way. but again thats just me. It takes a little while longer to see result when you directly sow into the ground. Make sure the soil isnt to dirty and I think youll be fine. As long as they germinate I don't see a problem with them growing like any other squash. Be confident in your growing and your seeds and you will see results. Good luck