Oil seed pumpkins

I was afraid this thread would die on the vine. It's good to hear from those with lots of exposure to it.

About the protected status --- The European union would like to claim exclusive rights to many foods. They don't want others to make Burgundy wine, Cheddar cheese etc ... They have no authority beyond their borders. The Austrians claim development of the cultivar, the Slovenians probably have a better climate for pumpkins. This plant originated in the Americas along with tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes, syphilis and tobacco. There is absolutely no reason to avoid growing these pumpkins or to favor oil from the protectionist zone. If they start producing good pumpkin oil in Argentina, good for them.

I found a local to me seed company cares a strain of these.

http://uprisingorganics.com/vegetables/pumpkins-curcurbita-pepo-/styrian-hull-less-heirloom-/prod_214.html

Might have to try them out.

I also grow it, and something has not been said:

Compared to other cucurbita, the seed is more likely to rot when you sow it, because it is hull less.
I lost half of the seed that rot before they could come out (fresh weather this year...).
So I guess it is good to sow them with enough heat so that they really come out as quick as possible.
I cannot tell what would be the ideal temperature...
And really do not overwater.

Yes, for own sowing afterward, they will hybridate with all pepos, so with zucchini.

The pumpkin is edible, it is just tasteless. Yes animals do eat it.

Some people report that rats make holes into the pumpkin when it is ripe, just to go and eat the seed....

About seed source, you can also find them in healthfood stores, if you can get the raw type of course.

Then I want to specificaly address one topic, the choice to make oil or to eat the seed.
I definitely use the whole seed for pumpkin and sunflower at least!

One thing I am sure for sunflower and must be looked for about pumpkin seed, is the omega 6 excess.
This is not a problem if you eat the seed, but you eat more of this fat when you eat only the oil.
Also, you would loose a lot of nutrients and even proteins by not using the rest of the seed.

I do meal them to make a sort of powder, with all the fat, and NOT to the point of making "butter".

Now I explain this important point.
Seed do not look really oily because this is an emulsion.
We can digest only emulsified fats...
And this is what is doing the bile, it emulsify all fats we eat.
When I found out this, I deduced that we de-emulsify seeds (when making oils or butters) ...to re-emulsify them in our bodies!

Actually, my main use of pumkin seeds is to emulsify my salad dressings!
Just try to put virgin olive oil, cider vinegar and pumpkin seed powder (with coffee miller) into a jar with a lid and shake it.
I also do this with avocadoes, which are so good emulsifiers. The pumkin add great taste.
(I do the same but with sunflower seeds when I put banana and make some sweet avocado chocolate cream, hmmmm)

That uprisingorganic site mentioned something that brings up another use for these seeds:

Seeds must be harvested relatively soon after harvesting the pumpkins or they will begin to sprout.

Hmm. Another good source of sprouts. Being hull less, this should be quick and easy.

As you experiment with this green oil, beware one thing. My friends in Graz (i.e. within the native reagon of this oil) warned me that if you get a stain, it can not be washed away with regular detergents or even stain removers. The only thing that really works is sunlight. It will gradually fade the stain.

Luckily I haven't yet had to prove this right or wrong... pumpkin seed oil is simply one of the best oils for salad. You can get addicted to it. Sure, the seeds are delicious just like that, too. Perhaps I will try growing it someday, if I ever get that greenhouse... our summers might be a bit too short for this variety to grow on the field.

Thanks for this very informative thread.
I have just harvested a 'Lady Godiva' in my garden, and will remove the seeds soon.
I'm looking forward to growing more hulless cultivars next year.

I grew the Johnnies Selected Seeds version:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5701-kakai.aspx


The seeds are indeed hulless and very tasty, but only about half of the pumpkins produced nicely filled out seeds. I'm going to try to plant those and refine a more reliable variety.

They do like a rich soil...


You'd be shockingly lucky to even get half a liter of seeds per pumpkin, and the oil would be much less than that of course.

West Coast Seeds in Vancouver (on-line catalogue ) has a hulless pumpkin called Lady Godiva.

We have grown these guys for several years and love them. Never used them for oil but we regularly get about 130gm of seed per pumpkin and they turn up everywhere from breakfast muffins to toppings on lasagne. Some cultural notes.

Pick when they are starting to colour up and store in a dry place. They will continue to ripen there. If you leave them out to ripen there is a risk that rain will flush the plant and cause the seeds to germinate. The other benefit of early picking is that the plant often sets another couple of fruit and more seed.

We gave up trying to flavour them for human consumption but they make a great treat for my cow at milking time. I chop them into batons and the skin is hard enough that she has to chew thoroughly before swallowing so a third of a pumpkin keeps her happy while I finish milking. I'm planting a bigger crop this year to keep her happy and us vegos in seed.

A friend takes his seeded halves and lays them cut side up for his ducks. The halves fill with water and the flesh starts to rot and the ducks love it.

i grew a variety of hulless pumpkin this year as a trial from baker creek seed co, the name either being kakai or godiva, but as I went to go look it up on their website they may not have it any more or perhaps just not in stock right now. Regardless, just wanted to add that they were a pretty successful crop in zone 8a an hour east of Seattle in full sun and what I consider to be poor soil. They only got around 6 inches across but survived late planting, slugs, and a significant amount of heat and neglect simultaneously. The plants themselves were very compact, more like a zucchini than other squash. Each plant produced one or 2 fruits. Might be because of the soil/neglect though, on both accounts.

I harvested them in early september when the vies started to die, and cracked one open immediately to find maybe half the seeds immature. I scooped them out anyway and put em in the toaster oven and found they contained a lot of water and sort of steamed and eventually toasted. They were delicious, and I loved how easy to prepare and eat they are compared to the normal ones.

I let the rest of them cure for around 2 weeks in a warm greenhouse and they're now in my root cellar and soon I'm gonna open another one to see whether the seeds have matured and hopefully dried out somewhat for an easier roast. If not, I might just return them to the greenhouse or other warm area and keep testing them periodically.

For me, I think this is a great fat and protein source from a self-sufficiency perspective and it may also be noteworthy that my dog felt just fine about eating the flesh, so nothing will likely go to waste. He ate several cups full over a few days like they were candy. That being said, he's not a picky eater and loves squash in general. But hey, free dog food!

I previously posted in the food preservation https://permies.com/t/50767/food-preservation/Drying-pumpkin
My seeds cam from uprising originally. The seeds are flatter than the ones sold in the stores and there is more orange to the flesh than most pictured. They do have a pumpkin flavor when fully mature but the flesh is about like a mature zucchini. When dehydrated they make excellent pumpkin four. I take some of the seeds and some of the dried flesh and whiz then together to ad to my daily double boiler seed bread.
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The ones with the most green on them I have put on my seed starting shelf where they get lots of sun to see if I can get more yellow flesh. The web that holds the seed turns yellow first and has the most intense flavor. The larger pumpkins do not get much thicker flesh than median ones but there is more by surface area. As they get more yellow on the rind the web holding the seeds is dryer and less undeveloped seeds. Qne to two cups of seeds per pumpkin.

CULTIVATION
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I started these early enough so the vines were about a foot long when transplanted. The carpet protects them from soil contamination and prevents weeds. If they hang from trellis or are free to roll as they grow they stay round but otherwise they can get a flat spot where they are sitting. With the 8 feet between rows most of them were able to roll but the most vigorous traveled the 8 feet and climbed a 4 foot fence. there was ah 16 inch pumpkin hanging on the fence.

https://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=2456 with some first-hand growing and cleaning instructions.

Hey Dale I think that b and t world seeds has the seeds for like 20