The 'Danka Polka' common pumpkin or squash is Polish-bred variety. This pumpkin produces large and tasty seeds that are called pepita in North America. The 'Danka Polka' belongs to indeterminate squash cultivars. Its shoots that creep over the ground, spread broadly. A single fruit of the proposed variety weighs 2.5 to 3 kg. It takes on a spherical shape and a green, marbled colour. The fruit has only a thin layer of flesh but is densely packed with seeds. One fruit consists up to 500 seeds.
Pumpkin seeds have been eaten for centuries. Their excellent nutritional value has been proven by scientific research. They also supply valuable raw material for healthy oil. It strikes with its unique colour and taste. One can use pumpkin seeds in a variety of ways in the kitchen. They constitute a great addition to breakfast cereal, smoothies, bread spreads and salads. Roasted pumpkin seeds are a great savoury or sweet snack. You can produce homemade energy bars, cheese spreads and dips for vegetables out of the pumpkin seeds. They taste great on the crust of the home baked sour dough bread. We also recommend to substitute nuts or other seeds in the green pesto sauce. Pumpkin seeds have many health-supporting properties. They are, among others, rich in zinc, an element that is absolutely necessary for our well being. Regular consumption of pumpkin seeds improves body's resistance, prevents from arteriosclerosis, improves the condition of the skin and masculine sexual powers.
Growing pumpkin is easy. Grow seedlings from seeds sown onto a seeding tray or sow directly onto the field. April is the optimal seeding time if you intend to grow seedlings. Sow to the permanent site from the middle to the end of May. Plant the seedlings after the last frost in spring, because squash plants are not hardy. This plant requires a humous soil with high water capacity. It will thrive on a sunny and sheltered site. We recommend to keep 100 x 100 centimetre spacings between the plants. The harvest begins in August and lasts until end of October. The fruit can be stored long term,.
One package contains 100 grams of seeds. The basic plant facts, growing instructions, and the sow-by date can be found on the package label.
- Use: seeds
- Harvest time: August - October
- Growth form: creeping
- Site: sunny, sheltered; humous soil with high water capacity
- Weight: 100 g
GardenSeedsMarket - has been in business for more than a decade and from the very beginning we have made the quality of our products the top priority. Throughout the years we have delivered the best quality goods to tens of thousands of customers from all over the world. Their satisfaction proves that we had chosen the right way.
All seeds we sell are subject to a multi-level quality control checks and only then are carefully packed and dispatched. Our products have been awarded numerous certificates and comply with the highest standards of the European Union. Our employees are experienced gardeners who are more than happy to answer your every question.
Where do our seeds come from?
All of the seeds sold in our shop come from the best producers from across the European Union. Thanks to a long-standing cooperation with them we were able to develop the most adequate storing and dispatch conditions, guaranteeing that you always receive fresh and carefully tested batches of seeds. Exclusion of the middlemen from the whole process not only makes it possible for us to avoid sending out-of-date seeds that might have been lying too long on a warehouse shelf, but also ensures the most attractive price for top quality products.
The quality control process
All our seeds must pass a four-stage quality control process.
Stage one begins with a careful selection of the suppliers. Than we proceed with controlling their crops, foreign producers are not excluded from the quality control process. Plants are checked at every stage of their development: when they start to grow, during blooming and when they start bearing fruit (seeds). At this stage the most important thing is to ensure proper spacing of the plants. Thanks to that obtaining the desired morphological characteristics of each particular species or variety, such as colour, height and shape, can be ensured.
Stage two consists of a detailed verification tests in laboratory conditions. With the use of the highest quality equipment by the highly qualified staff, our suppliers perform more than 30 000 quality checks annually. The seeds that do not meet our requirements are subject to technological refining processes, including drying, cleaning, upgrading and testing again.
Stage three starts with sowing seeds in selected control plots. That way we obtain valuable, exact information concerning their germination that must be maintained at an appropriate level. Simultaneously, the varietal identity of each species is checked at this stage.
Stage four takes place in our warehouses and consists of eliminating seeds that have been stored for too long on our shelves and replacing them with new batches. Each package is stamped with a unique batch number and also with the sow-by-date.
All four stages combined allow us to state with confidence that the seeds we deliver comply with the highest standards and have completed all required control stages with flying colours.
Prizes and awards
The seeds we sell are widely recognized for their quality and have won many awards. Our seeds won numerous gold medals and distinctions for their high quality. The World of Flowers was also honoured for its innovative approach.
Among those awards there were: TOP INNOVATION (June 2015), GOLD MEDAL AT THE POZNAN INTERNATIONAL FAIR (2015), CONSUMER QUALITY LEADER (2014), FARMER OF THE YEAR (2014).
In addition, we have also been awarded the “IDEAL BUSINESS” certificate for two years in a row.
Germination
We are committed to selling only the highest quality seeds. Taking into consideration the efforts we make daily, please also note that plants are living organisms and their germination and growth depends on many factors, such as temperature, soil type, humidity and the frequency with that they are watered, sowing time and conditions, use of fertilizers and plant protection agents (pesticides), as well as weather and climate conditions. We provide help by sharing the accurate and up-to-date sowing and growing information, however, we cannot bear any responsibility for the plants that were not cultivated in conditions appropriate for given species.
