Naked-seeded pumpkin project

[Zeedman]

What do you recommend for spacing, @Zeedman ?

For squash with less-aggressive vines (I count Little Greenseed among those) I space single plants 2' apart in a row, or hills of 2-3 plants 4' apart. I allow 6' on either side for vines to run, but you can easily get away with less by turning the runners inward.

 

[meadow]

Thank you!

 

[Jack Holloway]

Just saw Naked Bear Pumpkin seeds in Johnny's catalog. No description in the catalog, so I checked the internet. Suppose to be a dual purpose, edible flesh, naked seeds, small 2 - 4 pounds pumpkin. A pdf from Florida came up in the search comparing it to Beppo from the University of Florida IFAS Extension. Wasn't sure if I should attach it or not, so here is a link to it. Naked Bear vs. Beppo pumpkins in Florida. Naked Bear is a more bush type and Florida found it to be a 1 - 2 pound pumpkin. Also there was an explanation of the hull-less gene (recessive) and why sometimes there is still some hull.

edited to add: Florida is also working on a better tasting dual purpose pumpkin, one where the pumpkin flesh is tastier.

And for growing in Florida.

 

[Zeedman]

Just saw Naked Bear Pumpkin seeds in Johnny's catalog. No description in the catalog, so I checked the internet. Suppose to be a dual purpose, edible flesh, naked seeds, small 2 - 4 pounds pumpkin. A pdf from Florida came up in the search comparing it to Beppo from the University of Florida IFAS Extension. Wasn't sure if I should attach it or not, so here is a link to it. Naked Bear vs. Beppo pumpkins in Florida. Naked Bear is a more bush type and Florida found it to be a 1 - 2 pound pumpkin. Also there was an explanation of the hull-less gene (recessive) and why sometimes there is still some hull.

edited to add: Florida is also working on a better tasting dual purpose pumpkin, one where the pumpkin flesh is tastier.

And for growing in Florida.

Interesting. I like how they planted their pumpkins, and may try that for some of my squash. Of the two varieties tested, Beppo appears to be the Styrian type. It has the typical green / orange striping, and large completely hulless seeds in a somewhat smaller pumpkin. But at least for them, a less than impressive yield.

Naked Bear appears to share many of the traits I am pursuing (aside from the [questionably] edible flesh). The number of squash per plant is similar. The bush habit is tempting... but I suspect that the ability of the vines to root has been bred out, so that may be a mixed blessing. My suspicion is that in breeding it to bush habit, they may have increased its vulnerability to Squash Vine Borer. Their description of the seed coats sounded reserved, as if there is a thicker skin? Still, it looks like a variety worth further investigation. If this summer's trial does not show significant improvement, I may give Naked Bear a try.

 

[meadow]

Nice find, @Jack Holloway! Nice to see a thorough comparison.

 

[Jack Holloway]

Thanks @Zeedman and @meadow , I also found some seed of Triple Treat I bought years ago. It must have been on sale as I found 4 packs. I opened them and the seed look terrible. Small seeds, but not very hull-less. The package says "Great for carving, tasty flesh for pies, and hull-less seeds make delicious snacks. Bright orange, round pumpkins weigh 6-8 pounds." I'll take pictures of the seeds tomorrow, if the weather cooperates.

 

[BeanWonderin]

I'm looking forward to another year with the Little Greenseed project. I was able to collect seed from 14 hand-pollinated pumpkins of various size in 2021. I did have 4 that look especially promising based on the project objectives:

2-3 pound, naked-seeded, all-orange pumpkin.

The top four selections are #2, 4, 8, and 9. #3 is also pretty good.

The seed quality varied, but was generally good, with the exception of #14, which didn't meet project objectives anyway. Seed size generally correlated with pumpkin size. Pumpkin #10 was a standout in terms of dry seed weight.

2021-02

2021-03

2021-04

2021-08

 

[BeanWonderin]

2021-09

2021-10

Seed drying:

Comparison of dried seed (.25 inch grid):

 

[flowerbug]

Just saw Naked Bear Pumpkin seeds in Johnny's catalog. No description in the catalog, so I checked the internet. Suppose to be a dual purpose, edible flesh, naked seeds, small 2 - 4 pounds pumpkin. A pdf from Florida came up in the search comparing it to Beppo from the University of Florida IFAS Extension. Wasn't sure if I should attach it or not, so here is a link to it. Naked Bear vs. Beppo pumpkins in Florida. Naked Bear is a more bush type and Florida found it to be a 1 - 2 pound pumpkin. Also there was an explanation of the hull-less gene (recessive) and why sometimes there is still some hull.

edited to add: Florida is also working on a better tasting dual purpose pumpkin, one where the pumpkin flesh is tastier.

And for growing in Florida.

their evaluation of the flesh taste of both of those matched my own tasting last season. not worth bothering with (i'm not much into zuchini squash for the same reason, i want some flavor).

 

[flowerbug]

@BeanWonderin ! awesome to see those from your growout. none of the fully developed squash from my growout were that small, even your largest squash was less than half the size of most of mine.

so it looks like @Zeedman has some good results to work with.

what is the grid size marking on that paper?