Saving the Squash Seeds

A lot of people love squash. I am one who loves to grow, harvest and eat squash! Saving the seeds for squash can be a bit tricky. Squash are pollinated by insects. This means that the pollen from a male flower needs to travel to a female flow of the same species in order to form a fruit.

Pumpkins and squash are in the same families.

The trouble starts if you plant 2 or more closely related squash. The squash will cross pollinate with each other and produce hybrid seed that may produce very strange fruit that may not taste at all good. For example: Acorn squash will cross with zucchini. They look very different but, they are from the same family.

There are 4 kinds of squash/pumpkins that are generally grown in family gardens and farms. They are Cucurbita pepo, Cucurubita moschata, Cucurbita angyrosperma and Curcurbita maxima. There are other species of squash also. Most often when you buy seeds they will be one of the 4 kinds I have mentioned. You will notice that the first part of the scientific name is the same for each group of squash. It is the last part you will want to pay the most attention to. Pepo, Moschata, Angyrosperma, and Maxima. If you buy seeds from different families you can grow 4 kinds of squash in the same garden and not cross pollinate. So look at the scientific name of the squash and pick your favorite from each family. It is hard to pick because so many great varieties are in the same family.

We can think all is good and we have our true seeds. Just harvest the fruit and pop out the seeds. Trouble is your friends and neighbors may plant squash from the same family you did but a different variety. Insect can ravel over a mile when pollinating. How do you keep your seeds pure.

First.  Plant your seeds and care for the plants till blossom time. Keep an eye out for female blossoms forming. They will be the blossoms with a small squash looking bulb just under the blossoms. The female blossoms are most often on short stems. The male blossom's are frequently on a longer stem. 

Second look at your blossom's in the evening. If they are larger and just a bit yellow around the edges they will open in the morning.

Third. Get up before the sun. You need to be in the garden as the blossoms open. Most squash are only fertile for a few hours just after sunrise. Find your female and male blossoms as soon as they are a little open. The female blossom has a center that looks somewhat like a loosely clenched human fist and is frequently moist to the touch. The male blossoms have a center the is long and round looking like a yellow finger. Pick the male blossoms, pull the petals off so you have the yellow pollen covered stamen exposed. Then rub the stamen on the female blossoms pestle(the center part of the blossom) Use several male blossoms for each female blossom. Be sure all the male blossoms are from the same kind of squash as your female blossoms. After you have hand pollinated the female blossom take a small paper bag and cover the blossom so no insects can add undesired pollen to your seed pool. Do this to as many female blossoms as you can.

Last tie a string very loosely around the stem of the female blossom. This way you can track the hand pollinated blossoms from the others that may have been cross pollinated by insects.

Let the fruit you pollinated get very ripe. Then take the seeds from the ones you pollinated. You do this for each of the varieties of squash you have planted. Set the seeds in a single layer so they can dry. After they are completely dry put them in a container and store them in a cool dark place. If they are not dry they can mold and destroy your crop. I also keep mine in a freezer to keep any mold from growing.

Next year do it again.