My favorite seed to save is ones from the squash family. Like pumpkins, zucchini, acorn squash, and butternut squash.  I bought “this particular winter squash” at our local farmers market. The gentleman told me that “this particular winter squash” was one that stored well and that the skin would remain soft and was edible. This sounded really cool. I have found the  hardest part of using winter squash is cutting through the tough skin to get to the meat. I have come close to cutting myself a few time and both times where when is was trying to open a winter squash. Acorn Squash especially. They roll around like they have a mind of their own.

When opening “this particular squash” I found no such difficulties. It cut like a pumpkin or zucchini. Are you wondering why I keep calling it “this particular squash”? It is because I have forgotten the name the gentleman told me. I wish I remembered it. But that is not going to stop me.  Let’s give it a name. How about Market Winter Squash. Well, this Market Winter Squash tasted amazing! And as this gentleman grew it locally, I know I will be able to also. In conclusion, this Market Winter Squash is worth saving even though I cant remember it’s name. I will be asking him in the Spring when our farmers market returns for the year.

The Simplest Way to Save Squash Seeds

The first thing I did after cutting the squash open was to scrap all the seeds and seed gunk out of the squash. I know its gross!  I took about half of the seed, gunk and all, and placed them in a quart jar.

 I fill the same quart jar about half full with water and screw the lid on tightly. Why tightly? Because in the next step I shook the jar very vigorously for about 2 minutes. The result of my short workout was that the seeds were mostly cleaned and floating nicely on the top. Now all I needed to do was to scoop them out. I placed them on several piece of paper towel. The remaining gunk covered seeds I had to manually pull out of the gunk but after the good shaking this was easy. You can wear gloves for this step if you like.

Once all the seeds where laid on the stack of paper towels I made sure the were all evenly spread out. Next I placed another stack of paper towel on top of them and pressed down firmly to try and soak up any extra water.

I left them to dry for a couple hour, then I took the top lay of paper towel off to give them more air. Some of the seeds will stuck to the paper towel but that is fine. The next morning about 12 hours later I peeled all the seeds off the paper towel.

Some will come off very easily. Other may stick. You will just have to take your time to get them off and clean of the paper towel .I like to store my seed in a simple envelope. This will allow them to dry even more. I have seen where some people store them in jars. I would only recommend this if you are willing to take the time to let your seeds dry for another week to completely dry out. This will lesson the chance of moisture being trapped in the jar and making your seeds mold.

Well that's all there is to it. I do strongly recommend that you write as much information on the envelope as possible. I am going to include everything, like the year I purchased the squash, my funny made up name, the details the gentleman told me about the squash, the color the squash was when I cut it open, a drawing of the squash, and how it tastes. I like to keep track of everything!! This helps me when I put the information in to my Seed Tracker Spreadsheet.

This method will work for all varieties of squash, like pumpkins, zucchini, other summer squash varieties, and even winter squash. When it comes to saving seed you may not need to save every single one. I would say 25 to 50 seeds should be enough. So what can you do with all those extra seed especially from a large pumpkin or winter squash?

I personally like to roast them for a delicious and nutrient dense snack. Here is my favorite recipe. This recipe only uses salt for seasoning but you could add any seasoning to get different flavors. My men's favorites are ranch and BBQ. Or if you don't want savory you can go sweet by drizzling them with honey just before you bake.

Roasted Squash Seeds

1 1/2 Cup Raw Squash Seeds

2 tsp. Butter(melted) or Olive Oil

Salt to taste about a pinch

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees will you melt your butter in a medium bowl. Pour dried Squash Seeds into bowl and stir until all seeds are coated with butter or oil if you are using olive oil.

Lay seeds evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Stir occasionally.

I hope you enjoy this very delicious snack.

To learn more about saving seeds and more growing recipes be sure to check out the Purposeful Growing Waiting List. Also if you want to learn more about saving different types of seed grab the Saving Saving Seeds from your Garden Guide!

Remember don’t let the world hold you back, Pray Just Plant!