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Ohio

I was wondering if anyone here has any experience selling a new pumpkin variety or I guess seeds of any sort for that matter to a large seed company (Rupp, Jung, Harris etc.)? In my quest to make large white pumpkins I accidentally made large yellow pumpkins (still working on the white), but they're still neat, and quite beautiful. I've emailed Rupp so far, and they are interested, but I don't even know how to go about this. What does one charge, what is fair, does this involve copyrighting? Despite growing pumpkins my entire life, this aspect is entirely foreign to me. Thank you in advance for any advice!

1/31/2014 2:36:50 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Depends on how you do it...anyway you go I would seek a business lawyer. Are you selling the seeds or the cross to the seeds, are the results always the same? Are you prepared for when they don't grow as you say they grow and the seed company wants compensation because their customers are demanding it..Again seek a lawyer. You may find your profit is not worth the headache

1/31/2014 4:44:52 PM

Bonney Lake, WA USA

I grew a white pumpkin this year. 1019.5. Let me know if you want some seeds or pics. It was a 1520 Sperry X selfed.


brickwallpaul@hotmail.com

1/31/2014 5:16:58 PM

Ohio

Linus Van Pelt, I'm selling the seeds. They've produced the same tall, uniform, 25-35 pound pumpkins for 3 years so I do trust that they will continue to do so. You offer good points that I didn't consider- a business lawyer is a good start. Thank you for the advice.

Mosquitoman, I should have specified, these are cucurbita pepo. Thank you for the offer though!

1/31/2014 5:30:51 PM

Bethlehem CT

cmohlin89 I would love to see a picture of the yellow pumpkins.

2/1/2014 7:37:44 AM

Pumpkintown, SC

From my experience, and this may change from seed company to seed company, you will need to provide proof of consistency (stability) for more than 3 generations (more like 5-7), all this will need to be documented thoroughly.
As VP stated above, if you are looking to maximize your potential compensation, you will need to get a "suit" involved. I would also suggest you get a PVP (Plant Variety Protection) to legally protect your new "variety"...provided you honestly feel the phenotype meets these 3 guidelines 1) distinctiveness; 2) uniformity; and 3) stability.
I might further suggest you contact Danny Dill, son of the father of our beloved Atlantic Giants, Howard Dill, about their experiences doing this. Danny is a great guy.
BTW, out of curiosity, are we talking about a true "pumpkin" or a "squash"? Best of luck to you, I too like yellow pumpkins!!

2/2/2014 1:51:28 AM

Alaska

Reimer Seeds sells Howard Dill's pumpkin seeds. They state that PVP(Plant Variety Protected) Variety Seeds may be used only to grow for personal use. Lots of open pollinated seeds are sold by many different seed companies. No patent no problem. If you got something you've created and haven't patented it keep it to yourself and friends. Otherwise anyone can take it and sell the he!! out of it rename it claim it you get it?

2/2/2014 4:08:27 PM

Ohio

Thank you all so much for all of the advice! It is a true pumpkin, a cucurbita pepo. I started 7 years ago by crossing large white gourds with pumpkins. The shape and size are now very consistent, but I never could get the white color to stay, they're always yellow by maturity. I've introduced a different white variety to try to get the pumpkins to stay white, we'll see how that goes.
And you would all be proud, it does have some large pumpkin genetics in it. I figured if I was working with gourds that were relatively small in comparison to pumpkins, I had best use some larger pumpkins (75-90 lbs) to keep the size up. It appears to have worked, as I'm consistently getting 25-35 lb yellow pumpkins.

2/4/2014 2:18:44 PM

Ohio

Also, I'll share pictures, but I don't see an obvious way to post them. They aren't hosted on any sites so I can't share a link. Is there a way to embed the pictures in a post?

2/4/2014 2:21:43 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/gallery/galsubfrm.asp

2/4/2014 4:07:06 PM

Ohio

I uploaded them, not sure where exactly they went but if this accepts html it may work

<img src="GalleryImg/Yellow1.jpg">

2/4/2014 8:30:49 PM

Ohio

Here they are


http://www.bigpumpkins.com/DisplayPhoto.asp?pid=7371

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/DisplayPhoto.asp?pid=7370

2/9/2014 11:59:46 AM