Question
was thinking, almost sure, that an heirloom pumpkin will give me seeds that will make another pumpkin that looks like the parent, right?  no matter what bees did WHAT to the plant, i got a blue pumpkin and i will get more blue pumpkins if i use it's seeds next year? i think its the australian pumpkin, and i have a fairytale or long island cheese pumpkin too.  dont want to buy seeds cuz i want to be SURE i get a pumpking like mine.
should i just get the seeds out and dry them and save them for next spring?  also - should i plant them inside first and transplant them?  we live in zone 6 and have along growing season here in sw missouri.  i usually put them right into the ground after frost date.  thanks!!!


Answer
Hi Rene?
The Australian pumpkin is an open-pollinated pumpkin unless there are some new cultivars that have been developed out of this heirloom.  Open-pollinated means if there are no other close relatives of the pumpkin nearby, your pumpkins should produce seeds that will in turn produce plants close to or exactly like the blue pumpkins you now have.  Bear in mind that if there are any other pumpkins growing nearby, the plants could possibly cross-pollinate.  The seeds of the resulting cross would probably bear little resemblence to the current parent plants.  Also, if there is zucchini near by, it may cross-pollinate with your pumpkins.  Chances are, if you have the Australian pumpkin growing near other pumpkins, they have cross-pollinated and the resulting progeny will not be the exact same.  Here is a link to  how to hand pollinate pumpkin plants (for next year).

http://www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/pollen.htm

Yes, SW Missouri has a long enough growing season where plants can be started from seed outdoors usually after April 10th, sometimes earlier.  You can also warm the ground up by putting black plastic over it at the beginning of March.  Pumpkin plants can also be started indoors as early as 6 weeks before the last frost.  I wouldn't start before March 1.  Keep the seedlings under lights.  If you keep them cool, say 70? they will grow slower than at say 80癋.  I hope this helps.
Tom