Hey everyone! I'm a second-year gardener and I'm trying to save seeds from my successful crops this year, specifically acorn squash and some special lemon cucumbers. However, I've had some issues with the process. After washing and drying my acorn squash seeds for a few days, they ended up rotting. The cucumber seeds didn't fare any better; I let them sit in water for a day, but once I dried them on a paper towel, they desiccated. I've had luck saving seeds from flowers and other dry plants, but these wet seeds are really throwing me off. Any advice on what I might be doing wrong? Thanks in advance!
2 Answers
I've done melon seeds like cantaloupe and honeydew before, and all I did was rinse them and let them dry out on a cookie sheet. Make sure they are fully dry before bagging them in something like those small zip locks. It's crucial to store them in a cool, dark place too! Also, for pepper seeds, just pull them out after coring, let them dry, and then bag them up. It seems like you might be over-complicating things a bit!
When saving cucumber seeds, I usually just give them a quick rinse and let them dry. I’ve never soaked them in water. You might want to skip the soaking part as that can really lead to issues!
Thanks for the tips! I think I might be rushing the drying process too much.