How to Grow Pumpkin Seeds (The Green Hulless Pumpkin Seeds Best For Snacking!)

Have you ever wondered how to grow pumpkin seeds, the green hulless kind for snacking? When you cut open a regular pumpkin, the seeds are covered in a thick white hull, or shell, that is tough and not very appetizing. If you’ve ever tried to remove the hull to get to the nice, plump seeds underneath, you’ll know that’s it’s a LOT of work!

So how can you get nice pumpkin seeds for snacking like you’d buy in the store? There’s a secret….

Those delicious pumpkin seeds actually come from a different type of pumpkin.

They don’t have a tough outer hull, but have been bred to have the “hulless” trait. These types of pumpkins have been grown since the 1800’s for snacking and as a source of oil. They can be referred to as “Styrian Pumpkins”, “Hulless Pumpkins”, “Naked Seeded Pumpkins” or “Oil Seed Pumpkins”.

If you were wondering how to grow pumpkin seeds for snacking, now you know!

 

How to Grow Pumpkin Seeds

1. Start with a hulless pumpkin seed variety
2. Plant seeds after danger of frost, avoiding soil that is cold and soggy
3. Plant 3-4 seeds on each hill and thin to best 2 plants
4. Keep watered and weeded
5. When the vines begin to die back or frost threatens, the hulless pumpkins should be harvested
6. Hulless pumpkins will last up to 6 months or more stored at room temperature in your home.
7. To enjoy your homegrown pumpkin seeds, cut the pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds with a large spoon. Rinse with water, optionally soak the seeds in water up to 12 hours. Roast or dehydrate pumpkin seeds. Toss with a dash of oil and a sprinkle of salt!

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Styrian pumpkins are grown in pretty much the same way as any other pumpkin. The seeds are more susceptible to rot, so should be planted in warm soil that is damp but not soggy. If you live in a wet climate, you might have better luck starting this pumpkin indoors in peat or coconut coir pots.

Different varieties will produce anywhere from 1-2 to 6-8 pumpkins per plant. The plants of most varieties tend to really sprawl and can take over your garden, so plan accordingly!

Hulless pumpkins should be planted when the ground is warmed and all danger of frost is past. Like any other squash family member, they do well planted on hills with 2-3 plants on each hill. Kept weeded and watered, they typically take 3 1/2-4 months to reach maturity.

Cut the hulless pumpkins off the vine and bring indoors before a hard frost. Most naked seeded pumpkins will be mostly green at harvest, but will develop more yellow to orange stripes in storage. They can be stored in a cool part of your home for 3-6 months or more, depending on variety.

 

Can You Plant Store Bought Pumpkin Seeds?

 

Can you plant store bought pumpkin seeds?

Maybe.

If the pumpkin seeds have been roasted, or pasteurized at a high temperature, they will not sprout and are useless for planting.

Even if they are completely raw, store bought pumpkin seeds may be a hybrid variety that will not breed true, and the resulting plants might have hulls.

They also might be a variety that just won’t grow in your area.

It certainly doesn’t hurt to try planting store bought seeds, but you’ll probably have the best results from picking out a hulless pumpkin variety from a seed company that will have time to mature in your growing season.

 

 

Some Hulless Pumpkin Varieties:

Most Styrian Pumpkins look very similar, with green and yellow striping.

The flesh is bland and stringy, similar to a spaghetti squash. It can be used in spaghetti squash recipes, or make great livestock feed. They aren’t recommended for baking, lacking the color and flavor of other pumpkins.

If you would like to use the pumpkin flesh, Naked Bear is the best variety to grow. Naked Bear is, however, an F1 hybrid, meaning you’ll have to buy seeds to plant each year instead of saving your own.

 

• Styrian Hulless
• Kakai
• Gleisdorfer Naked Seeded
• Lady Godiva (pictured above)
• Austria Oil Seed Pumpkin
• Naked Bear (F1)

You can find Lady Godiva and Kakai at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Territorial offers Naked Bear, and Fedco sells a variation of Lady Godiva as well as Naked Bear.

 

How to Harvest Pumpkin Seeds

 

 

To harvest the seeds, wait until the pumpkins have some orange streaking on the outside. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Rinse the seeds off thoroughly in a colander.

For Raw Pumpkin Seeds: Pat the seeds dry, optionally toss with sea salt, and spread in a single layer to dry. This works best with a dehydrator or near a wood stove. To maximize the nutrient content of your pumpkin seeds, dry them at 100F until crisp.

For Soaked Pumpkin Seeds: Soak the seeds in water for 6-12 hours. Pat dry and finish drying in a dehydrator or on the lowest setting in your oven.

For Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds: Soak the pumpkin seeds in water for 6-12 hours. Drain well. Rinse in clean water 2-3 times a day until sprouts begin to appear. Pat dry and finish drying in a dehydrator or on the lowest setting in your oven.

For Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: Pat the seeds dry, toss with a little salt and roast at 250F until crisp.

 

How to Save Seeds from Hulless Pumpkins

Hulless pumpkin seeds can be hard to find and may not be available in your store. Once you find some, you can save the seeds from your pumpkins to plant next year.

Hulless pumpkins can cross with other pumpkins, as well as with acorn squash, spaghetti squash, summer squash, zucchini and gourds! Fortunately they are very easy to hand pollinate and get pure seeds from!

You can find complete instructions for hand pollinating pumpkins here: How to Save Pumpkin Seeds.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed learning how to grow pumpkin seeds!