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Oz

i had to move my AG trailer out from under the walnut tree.
big mistake,,,too much sun and the seeds are sprouting inside!
i took one to the front of the house to carve up.
it had some white ooze coming out the top.
the sprouts are fantastic looking!
God sure knows how to make feed for seed!
so ,,,,does anyone know what the chemical makeup of pumpkin guts and rind?
i have a opportunity to do hydroponics next year and id like to get the mix as close to the pumpkin as possible.

10/18/2003 12:58:29 PM

colorado

I am not sure, but could the guts harden and then you could crush them next year and use and a seed starter, or light fertilizer, or would the nutrient level be insignificant?

10/18/2003 1:24:55 PM

[email protected]

I knew I'd find this sooner or later. My recent interest stems from the leaf tissue analysis I have had performed by our lab, CLC in Ohio.

The following is based on the food value of pumpkin guts rather than the chemical plant nutrient values as I have range data for leaves & obviously soils.

According to the USDA website a 100 gram sample of raw pumpkin guts contains the following:

91.6 gms water
6.5 gms carbohydrates (as defined in detail in the charts)
.5 gms dietary fiber
1.36 gms Sugar
___________________________
99.96 gms (whoever said the government knew how to add?)

The (dietary) mineral data range for 100 gms of pumpkin flesh would then look something like this:

Calcium, Ca..mg................. 21
Iron, Fe..mg.................... 0.8
Magnesium, Mg..mg............... 12
Phosphorus, P..mg............... 44
Potassium, K..mg................ 340
Sodium, Na..mg.................. 1
Zinc, Zn..mg.................... 0.32
Copper, Cu..mg.................. 0.127
Manganese, Mn..mg............... 0.125
Selenium, Se..mcg............... 0.3

There is also a raft of data pertaining to vitamins, amino acids & lipids. But plants produce these things themselves & do not consume them directly from soil. Soil bacteria use them, but that's for another thread.

Similar data exists for seeds, but concentrates on aromatic oils which are of no concern to us.

It might be tempting to design a fertility program around data such as this. But that wouldn't do us any good. Healthy plants metabolize what they need, where & when they need it, based on genetically determined requirements & environmental constraints. So our existing soil test standards (especially when confirmed by leaf tissue analysis) is of adequate significance.

Interesting stuff though.

Steve

10/20/2003 9:00:20 AM

Tipp City, Ohio

Here I thought it was just considered the "icky stuff". lol

10/20/2003 10:28:12 AM

Oz

lol. that icky stuff starts a fine seedling for sure.
thanks steve,,,i got all winter,,i hope,,to chew the fat with some "hydo" farmers.

10/20/2003 10:35:50 AM