[rideandy]

Sorry another silly one!
Which way do I plant?
point up or down?

Cheers

[mumofstig]

for some reason (may have been told to in the past ) i always plant these shaped seeds on edge....with points side to side, if that makes sense?. No trouble so far

[rideandy]

Lovely.
Thanks

[peanut]

indeed, on side edge as this prevents them from getting too moist and rotting. Once they germinate they know which way is up

[5thhorseman]

I put mine flat, and they're just coming up now after a few weeks!

[sunshineband]

I just poke em in and they grow, so I wouldn't worry 

[SnooziSuzi]

how long do they generally take to germinate?  I've had mine in the greenhouse for over a week now and no signs of life... I'm getting impatient!! 

[sunshineband]

Depends how warm. If your greenhouse is unheated I'd think about keeping them indoors until they have germinated as you live much further north than me. I planted some Baby Bear seeds on 14th April and they are just coming up in my (heated at night) greenhouse. My daughter's (Snowman Squash) ttok 10 days in her unheated greenhouse: she lives in Croydon.

Hope that helps 

[SnooziSuzi]

ah, thought so!  it's unheated so I'll bring them up home and see if they do any better in the kitchen!

[sunshineband]

ah, thought so!  it's unheated so I'll bring them up home and see if they do any better in the kitchen!

If you have lots you can always ferret about gently and see whether anything has happened yet (don't tell the others though as I'm sure this is not what is recommnded but hey, I got impatient too LOL). Gently though, you don't want to snap that little hooky stem 

[rideandy]

Thanks for the replys

[FCG]

Pumpkins should shoot up with a little warmth.

I got impatient once and ended up with 6 pumpkin plants poking though my peas...

[Sadgit]

ahhh pumpkins... glad I read this as I have forgotten to get some seeds this year.. forgotten 2 or 3 times actually.. plant all pumpkin/squash seeds on their side, narrow edge upwards. Don't think it makes much difference though to be honest..

[Trebor]

Pointed end up, but if you get it wrong most will still manage to come up.

I have germinated all of mine in the airing cupboard and a propagator – they don’t need light at this stage, but do need a high temperature. I also tried a few on the windowsill in a propagator and they didn’t come up. 5-10 days for germination would not be unusual depending on the variety. I am finding that the smaller the seed the quicker they sprout – Hooligan and Avalon F1 Hybrid came through quickly, still waiting on Atlantic Giant and Amazonica. Once the sprouts are up (and the seed pod has fallen off – don’t pull it off however tempting) take them out of the propagator and airing cupboard then place them on the windowsill (or in the greenhouse) and they should be fine. Don’t overwater at this stage either as I almost drowned a couple of mine while in small pots. (I am going a bit mad this year as I have spare space at the back of the allotment so growing 10 varieties at the moment and 4 more on order!)