Thursday, November 1, 2012

Forced Into Saving Seeds

 Last year was the first year I tried saving my seeds. I saved seeds from my heirloom musk melons and watermelons.

And then I planted them this spring.

And then they grew and grew and grew. It was a huge success. I had much better results than with seeds purchased.

And so, I thought I'd pass along to you how I save my seeds. I have done no research on how to do it correctly. But what I did seemed to work beautifully.

First, and probably most important of all, get yourself some pumpkins (or melons, etc.) that you want to save seeds from. Because I am saving pumpkin seeds, I set my pumpkins outside to decorate the front porch. I enjoyed these pumpkins and their unique look.

And then...

Then...

This happened.







Apparently chickens LOVE pumpkins! And so I am forced to save my seeds earlier than expected. I brought in what was left of the poor pumpkins. I cut them open--more than the girls already did.


Next, and here's the hard part, scoop out the seeds. I use my hands but you can use a spoon if you're a sissy. However, you are still going to have to touch the seeds. After removing the seeds, I cleaned as much gunk off as I could  and placed them in a bowl.



Then, I filled the bowl with water and squished the seeds through my fingers to clean them. After doing this for a few minutes, I drain the seeds, add more water, and repeat. I do this several times until my water comes out clean.

The next step is to dump the seeds onto a paper towel and pick out any seeds that don't look right. See the difference in these seeds?


Next, I label my paper towel because I'm doing several different pumpkins. I leave the seeds to dry overnight.


If you are a perfectionist, go ahead and make sure all of the pumpkin guts are completely removed. I had other things to do, so some remained on my seeds. This hasn't seemed to affect them.

The next day, I labeled my envelopes and picked the seeds off the paper towels. Some stick a bit, but don't worry. Any remaining paper on the seeds will disintegrate when they are planted.




Now I just put them in the refrigerator door until spring.



14 comments:

  1. MMM... Yes, chickens do love pumpkins, and any leftover seeds are good for them. It acts as a natureal dewormer. If of course you can wrangle them from the kids. ;-)
    Looks like you've got a Lakota Squash(My personal favorite)a peanut pumpkin (galeuse d'eysines) and a long island cheese maybe. All good eating pumpkins! :-D

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    1. The dark orange one smelled so delicious if the chickens had left more of it, I may have tried eating it! And now you must tell me which is which. My mother liked the looks of them and bought them for me to save the seeds from, so I know nothing about them.

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  2. You are not a gardener. No respectable gardener would have gorgeous fingernails. No respectable gardener would even have CLEAN fingernails. Nope...you might be a seed saver, but you are not a gardener.

    (Pssst. I'll bet she makes her kids or that hunk she's married to do all the dirty garden work. She just does all the sissy stuff in the kitchen, then falls to the floor in a dead faint because she's "overworked", and then they wait on her hand and foot. She really has them trained. Smart woman!)

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    1. I have been a nail biter my whole life. I am finally growing these out but come summertime they may have to be shortened.

      Now, Granny don't go telling everyone my secrets. Although it's no secret I'm married to a hunk or that I'm a smart woman.

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  3. Well, I am a wuss, because even though I love getting my hands deep into dirt, the slimy feel of pumpkin insides does not appeal to me at all. A spoon it is! And I can't blame those hens for wanting to eat such nice pumpkins!

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    1. I think it feels kinda cool, but I don't care for them getting sticky.

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  4. Thanks Langela,from all of us self-sufficient types. I try and save seeds too and instead of putting them in the fridge I store them in my unheated garage.

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    1. Good tip, Gordon. I think they can be stored anywhere where it is cool and dark.

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  5. The dark orange one is the one I think may have been the Lakota. The one with the warts is the peanut squash. The whiteish one I think may be a long island cheese, but I've not grown it so I"m not completely confident in my knowledge there.

    All good eaters though. :-)

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    1. Just google each name and see what picture comes up to be sure of the variety.

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  6. New fan here via the Barn Hop. I would love for you to come share at my Farm Girl Blog Fest: http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/11/farm-girl-blog-fest-7.html
    And enter to win an Egg Skelter while you're visiting!
    Lisa
    Fresh Eggs Daily

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Lisa! I'm going to have to come over just to see what an Egg Skelter is.

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