Germination

3 days ago, I put some Mykos (mycorrhizae) from Xtreme Gardening in the soil of each pots - it had not yet come in the mail when I planted the seeds.

The first pumpkin seed came up yesterday, May 8th.  It is still having trouble shedding the seed coat.  I was concerned about the other seed, as it had not yet come up.  I dug down gently into the soil, and was able to confirm that it has produced a strong root.  So, it is just a matter of waiting.  I watered both pots, as the soil had dried out.  I had assumed the soil was still moist, as the plastic wrap on the pots was still wet.  Maybe the seeds would have come up sooner if I had kept the soil moist.  Also, I was able to find a picture of how to sand the side of the seeds to help germination (Found in Don Langevin's How-to-Grow World Class Giant Pumpkins the All-Organic Way).  I didn't sand as much as I could have, in retrospect.  I had just sanded a little at the rounded end of the seed.  I was worried when the white outer coat was worn away and the tan color underneath showed through.  Apparently though, based on the picture I saw, this is what one should be aiming for.  Not just on the rounded end, but down both sides, so that there is a nice tan strip running down the edge of the seed on both sides, like a racing strip.

I have since found a nice tutorial (by Jordan Rivington, posted on the site for the Giant Vegetable Growers of Ontario) on how to prep the seeds and germinate them using a plastic bag method.  There are lots of good pictures in the tutorial.

For now, both pots are on a heating mat, and are under grow lights, with a 16 hours on, 8 hours off cycle.