From seed

[sparkyaj]

has anyone got any tips on how to take seeds from things like water mellons, fruits ..................and how to grow it. Are their problems or tricks to help the growth?

[nick the grief]

Sparky,
I don't think you'll have much luck with water melons as they need it a bit warmer than we get also they sprawl a fare bit.

The best person to ask is my 5 yr old neice, she plants seeds from frozen peppers and the damn things grow !

[Cab]

Unless its an F1 variety, you can often take the seeds from crop plants and sow them. I wouldn't with melons, because the varieties that do well over here aren't the ones you're likely to buy, but I've had success with peppers, tomatoes, things like that. Tried with pumpkin, unsurprisingly what I got grew up wierd.

[andrewo]

Melons and pumpkins

I think these two are the same family, which means DO NOT COLLECT THEIR SEED - they cross pollinate with other plants, and though you think you will get exactly the same fruit as you took the seed from, you won't. In fact, like most fruit e.g. trees/bushes, the seed can be a reversion or a whole new strain, which 9 time out of 10 is absolutely useless. So avoid it, cause there's nothing more heart breaking than growing something like this, that will be absolutely useless and potentially poisonous.

Andrewo

[Cab]

I think these two are the same family, which means DO NOT COLLECT THEIR SEED - they cross pollinate with other plants, and though you think you will get exactly the same fruit as you took the seed from, you won't. In fact, like most fruit e.g. trees/bushes, the seed can be a reversion or a whole new strain, which 9 time out of 10 is absolutely useless. So avoid it, cause there's nothing more heart breaking than growing something like this, that will be absolutely useless and potentially poisonous.

I don't think that melons and pumpkins cross (I could be wrong) but certainly courgettes, squashes and pumpkins are all tarts amongst themselves, so you can get all manner of rubbish.

Some fruit is dissapointing from seed. Some not. Few breed true, but does it matter with blackcurrants, elderberries, lemons, etc? As for things like apples and pears, well, they could come out like anything. Sometimes interesting, sometimes not. But a quick look at wildling apples tells me that sometimes worthwhile