They are usually very quick germinators IME so my best guess would be that the seeds rotted from all the excess moisture or the heat trapped inside - it can easily reach 150 degrees in those things. Given that the gourds at least need a very long growing season it is very late to be planting them anyway in our zone so I'd suggest waiting until next year to try again and plan to plant them out in late April. You'll find lots of help on germinating seeds on the Growing from Seed forum here and be sure to check out the Pumpkins and Gourds forum too for even more tips. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Pumpkin & Gourds Forum

Thanks everyone, I will be out beginning my harvest today. But there are many pumpkins just starting so hopefully I have many more to look forward to. Football43013, this is only my second year growing pumpkins so I am no expert, I break most of the rules of pumpkin growing so this may be some of my trouble. Most everything I have learned has come from this forum and a few websites. So if anyone else would like to weigh in I won't be offended. The main trouble I have with preventing SVB or squash bugs or even the cuc. beetles is most insecticidal methods will kill your beneficial insects (pollinators). I keep 2 bee hives on my property as well and do not want to do anything to harm them. Most say to rotate your crop so it is not in the same location each year. I have no choice there, not enough room. I keep diligent in watching for eggs of SVB and squash bugs early on and either pull them with duct tape or torch them with a grill lighter. Once they have established I spray squash bugs of any stage directly with a mild castile soap and water mixture which kills them either immediately or within 60 seconds. Most say any soap will do, castile soap is just what I have found works for me. As for the SVB I slit the vine when I find them present and destroy the borer and bury the vine. Then take extra care to bury several more areas of the same vine with good dirt to promote more root growth to support the plant and subsequent fruit. I pretty much ignore the cuc. beetles but spray what I see as I am getting the squash bugs. I have also heard using row covers to protect plants early but I believe many of the squash bug problems come from larvae left in soil so Im not so sure that will work for them. I still however managed to harvest over 80 pumpkins last year for my small 8'x 16' dirt mound patch and have expanded that this year by another 10' so we will see. I over plant and deal with the consequences. What zone are you in? I know the farther north the less trouble but I'm in WI so that has not helped me much.

My package came today and I was so excited. Many of those were on my wish list to order from Baker Creek next spring. Squash is my favorite vegetable besides tomatoes. Thank you so much Wendy for all the work put into the swap and for everyone who sent in seeds because that is what makes the wonderful selections. Ellie

If the grasses are hardy for your zone, it makes no difference to cut them while the soil is frozen or to wait until it thaws. It is the activity of the grass and when it starts to grow that will determine the timing. And cutting back or not cutting back has no impact on whether the grass will increase in size (spread). Grasses growing wild have no one to cut them back and they will develop properly. Cutting back just improves the appearance in the garden and reduces self seeding on those so inclined. The Calamagrostis (Karl Foerster, Avalanche) are cool season grasses and will start growing soon so cutting back now before they are in active growth is advised. The flame grass is a warm season grass and won't start growing until temperatures warm up in mid to late spring so you can wait longer for those if you like.