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Rexburg, Idaho

My daughter 6th grade has to do a project for her science fair. She's already grown an 852# pumpkin (with a little help) and she is dedicated to growing next year. I'm trying to help her get ideas that would be appropriate for a 6th grader in the middle of winter. Several of these we "know the answer to" but certainly I have not studied them so as an concerned parent and pumpkin grower I would be interested in the answer. Here's my ideas. Does anyone have other ideas.
1-Does filing seeds actually help them germinate? file some seeds and not others and compare germination rates
2-What is the best solution to soak seeds in? water, peroxide, humates, she suggested vinegar (never heard of that but why not)
3-What type of potting soil do pumpkin seeds germinate best in?
4-What is the best temperature to germinate pumpkin seeds at?
5-What is the best artificial light to grow pumpkin seedlings under?
Any other suggestions?

11/15/2008 8:37:58 AM

Rexburg, Idaho

The rules on this seem pretty minimal.
They do want a presentation board made up. So something that would produce pictures would make it more interesting.
They do have an oral presentation portion so something to "show" would be nice as well.
Not trying to win any awards here but to teach science, and keep interest in growing pumpkins going.

11/15/2008 8:53:43 AM

Columbus,ohio

I was going to do something with pumpkin seeds this year with my personal scince fair project for 8th grade. I thought of the general idea of what you have. I was thinking of doing different mixes of germination soil. Like half and half topsoil and vermicompost ,all vermi compost, and just topsoil for my control.This is the first year that I have had a scince fair that a plan to do something with plants. Also I was thinking I could find some seeds with unknown genetics from a grower and use those so there is less verable in germanation.

11/15/2008 9:23:36 AM

canal winchester ohio

How about taking some seeds from this years crop and freezing some for 10-12 days & keep some out of freezer & see if the frozen seeds germinate faster.
It would recreate the process seeds go thru over the winter before spring thaw.

11/15/2008 9:52:42 AM

Long Island,New York

I would grow a bunch of seedlings from the same pumpkin under grow-lights in a soiless mix with no ferts.....then grow a bunch in same soil with phos ferts only...and some in same soil with nitrogen ferts only....wait a month and wieght the roots (cut seedling at base) and wiegh the top....draw conclusions

11/15/2008 10:02:47 AM

Long Island,New York

might wanna do some with both ferts too

11/15/2008 10:03:38 AM

SF Bay Area, California

My daughter Amanda did this one: What is the optimum germination temperature for pumpkin seeds. We did it at 60, 70, 80, 85, 90 and 95 The trick is being able to precisely control the temperature of the germination chamber. This is actually a useful experiment because the answer is something a grower needs to know and the answer might surprise you!

11/15/2008 10:31:51 AM

Columbus,ohio

I was thinking of something like LIpumpkin too....But with all three ferts....Urea,super phousphoraos, and potash

11/15/2008 11:59:17 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Brian, lots of variables listed...might want to scale it down to just two or 3 of the possibilities, or you might have to rent a big truck to haul her science project in!!! 1,3,and 4 alone w/ 3 of each would give you a plethora...100 or more,(depending on how many variables you choose in the potting soils, and temps selections) plants to haul around!!! Great idea, and best of luck to yer 6th grader!!! Peace, Wayne

11/15/2008 7:47:56 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

anaid...would Amanda be willing to post the results, from her tests? Peace, Wayne

11/15/2008 7:49:52 PM

SF Bay Area, California

Ok, but no cheating Brian. This test was done with ten seeds at each temperature. At 60 degrees no germination: 70 and 80 100% germination if given enough time. 85 and 90 Full germination of all seeds within 72 hours. (about 1/2 germinated within 24 hrs.) 95 partial germination only 80% - two seeds rotted before they sprouted.....

I now try to keep the temp between 85 and 90 for best germination success.

11/16/2008 12:49:49 PM

Rexburg, Idaho

I was going to ask but decided not to. Now that I know the answer I won't be able to show my daughter this page. I will let her find it out for herself.

11/16/2008 1:21:17 PM

I think your #1 is a great idea for a 6th grader. The process is called scarification, so she could define that and say a little about it. She could have a group not filed, then a few more groups filed a few different amounts. She could look at how fast they germinated, and also whether or not the seed coats were stuck to the cotyledons when the plant emerged from the soil (I have found that filing makes a difference in this).

11/16/2008 4:36:26 PM