Seed Starting

Is your house a bit cold for starting seeds or do you just want to speed up seed germination?  You might try this readers tip from the latest issue of  Fine Gardening magazine.  Take a plastic sweater box and fill it with 200 mini Christmas lights.  Some caveats:  LED lights won't work, they don't give out heat, don't used big incandescent lights without keeping a watchful eye as the heat they generate could melt the plastic.  With all good ideas, improvise with care!  (From April 2011 Fine Gardening magazine)

Pumpkins

This seems like the right time to talk about pumpkins.  It’s not time to plant them of course, but between Halloween and Thanksgiving, pumpkins reach the zenith of their popularity.  Pumpkins are hardly anyone’s favorite vegetable but maybe they should be.  There aren’t too many vegetables that are used in home decorating and a wide range of delicious foods.  While the pumpkin you buy for a jack-o-lantern isn't the best eating one you can use the seeds and create delicious snacks.    If you want to read more about pumpkins go to the Master Gardener newsletter and look for the November 09 issue which will be available after the first of the month.

  http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/mastergardener/newsletter.htm

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

All squash seeds are edible even if the squash itself isn’t any good.  Some pumpkin varieties have better seeds than others but the taste of all is delicious.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Remove all the stringy fibers from the seeds then wash the seeds well.  Blot off excess water.  Spread the seeds on a baking pan.  Toss with vegetable oil and salt (optional).  Roast in the oven until lightly colored, 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the seed.  Stir occasionally.  Cool.  Best used soon after roasting.