It’s actually a pretty cool idea. By selecting seeds from plants with the best qualities, you can tailor the specific conditions in your garden, allowing for a fruitful harvest for years to come. Saving seed from one year to plant the next is an age-old tradition. And again: ... Leave some to develop for next year’s seed supply. Shake seeds into … When you happen upon a cucumber, yellowing and past its prime, take it as a learning opportunity. You want to save seed from the finest fruit, so that next year's plant will have good genes. Set the bowl aside and leave it in a warm space – to allow fermentation to begin. If you are looking to expand your garden next year, saving seeds is the most cost-effective action you can take. Turns out, it is a bit more complicated than that, luckily not by much. Saving your own seeds also helps to preserve genetic diversity, as well as feeding the bees and butterflies with a familiar pollen of yesteryear. Furthermore, it is useful to know that cucumbers are both wind and insect pollinated and it just so happens that cucumbers can be hand pollinated when necessary, just like squash and pumpkins. Many viruses, including the prevalent mosaic virus, can be seed borne. If you save seed only from the biggest tomato of the bunch and replant them year after year, you’ll eventually end up with seeds that produce plants on which all the tomatoes are bigger. Professional seed savers recommend separating cucumber varieties by at least half a mile when planting in order to prevent crossing. If you’re dealing with plants that have tiny seed-producing flowers such as basil, snip the entire stalk to let the seeds fall naturally into an envelope or container. Hybrid plants are created by cross-breeding select “parent plants” with desirable characteristics. Use the scissors, knife or bamboo sticks from your collecting kit to harvest the ripe seeds. Once you learn how to properly save seeds, you can share them freely and spread the knowledge too. Cheryl Magyar is a sustainable life designer and environmental freelance writer with more than twenty years experience of living a simple life close to nature. If you have done your research on open-pollinated varieties and heirlooms well ahead of planting time, you’ll know that hybrids are to be avoided if you would like to save any sort of seeds for the following garden season. Place seeds on a paper towel or screen until they are thoroughly dry. Saving melon seeds from this year’s crop to plant in next year’s garden requires planning and attention to detail. But you won't know this from the seed package. Re-bag the female blossom until it ripens into a fruit—not only is that a great reward for all your hard work, but the presence of a cucumber assures that your hand-pollination methods worked. You can also keep seeds dry using rice kernels. Cucumber seeds are relatively easy to save for planting next year. Cucumbers and zucchini/summer squashes also have to be left a little longer, and you’re going to want to choose just one variety if you want next year’s plants to be similar to this year’s. Harvest the overgrown cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise. Similar to saving tomato seeds, you'll want to set the container aside (uncovered) in a warm spot that ideally maintains a temperature between 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Non-viable seeds will float to the top, the rest will sink. Squeeze or spoon the seed mass into a waterproof container (glass, jar, plastic cup, or deli container). Once dry, store the seeds in an air-tight storage bag or a Mason jar and label them for next year's sowing. Read on for tips about collecting seeds from melons. Some cucumber seed packages come with up to 10 seeds in them – an entire cucumber could have as many as 100 seeds! Cucumber seeds take a little more effort. It will look bloated and yellow, quite unbecoming, but with a treasure inside, something like this: Step 1 – Harvest the overgrown cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise. By using The Spruce, you accept our, How to Save Lettuce Seeds From Your Garden, Growing Cucumbers of All Shapes and Sizes, How to Save Tomato Seeds to Grow Next Year, How to Save Beans to Plant in Next Year's Garden, Seed Saving - Quick Tips for Saving Your Garden Favorites. Saving cucumber seeds ensures you have the same plant for next season. Non-viable seeds will float to the top, the rest will sink. Cucumbers and cucumbers too. Their land and their life’s work is aptly named ForestCreekMeadows. All of your seed saving expertise will be in vain if you try to save hybrid seeds. The seeds are enclosed in a slippery jelly like sack to keep them from sprouting inside the moist fruit. Strain the seeds, helping to remove any remaining viscous seed cover. You can use this same process to save seeds from tomatoes and cucumbers as well. 1. Place the seeds in a bowl, or jar, and cover the seeds with water. Then, gently place the pollen onto the stigma in the center of the female flower. Any cucumbers being cultivated for seed must be grown to full maturity and remain on the vine past the point where they're no longer edible. Step 2 – Scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Ground vines should be planted about three feet apart. Some seeds are easier to save than others. If you save seeds from a hybrid, the next generation reverts to the various parents. For vertical vines, plant seeds one foot apart. Step 7 – Label and store your saved cucumber seeds in an envelope, breathable cotton bag or a glass jar in a cool, dry place. 5. Place the container in the freezer for two days to kill any residual pests and then store in a cool, dry place such as the refrigerator. Bring it inside, then cut it lengthwise to reveal its inner seeds. Cut the cucumbers lengthwise to expose their seed. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Rinse the good seeds a few more times, then strain them and place them on paper towels to dry. Once dry, store the seeds in an air-tight storage bag or a Mason jar and label them for next year's sowing. Though squashes and squashes can. You can save ten years worth of cucumber seeds, once every ten years! They need to be pollinated by insects or the wind (or hand-pollinated by the gardener) in order to set fruit. Cucumber seeds will last up to 5 years in proper storage – to be safe, plant them and save seeds again as often as possible! Allow the seeds and pulp to mold for a few days, and then wash off and dry the seeds like above. Here’s our tutorial for saving tomato seeds so you can try it for yourself. Once properly dried, seeds can also be sealed in airtight containers and stored in … The seeds will need to ferment to remove the outer coating on the seeds. 4. Remember you should only save seeds from open-pollinated (OP) tomatoes. Saving Seeds for Next Year. She is an avid organic gardener who can often be found eating nourishing “weeds” and making herbal infusions, just as she can be seen planting native trees to help others around the world to lower their carbon footprints. Put the harvested seeds into a large bowl, and add an equal amount of water. Melons are members of the cucumber family, and they are open The same holds true for almost any other trait. There are seeds inside, ready to be saved. First, pick the cucumber from the vine using either your hand or a pair of gardening sheers if the vine is too thick. This can take anywhere from 1 to 3 days, and will smell like a gently fermenting cucumber salad. Another (more in-depth) way to isolate your cucumber plant involves building a cage to enclose the entire plant. Currently she is homesteading in northern Romania, amidst charming haystacks, with her husband and homeschooled daughter. Leave the seeds in there for a total of three days. To complicate things even further, cucumbers cross-pollinate easily with other cucumber varieties, which can impact the success of future harvests. Stir the mixture daily. Seeds are happiest when they are stored in a cool, dark, and dry place. When cross-pollination occurs, know that the old wives’ tale is simply not true. The Spruce uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Even if next year’s crop emerges and turns into a similar looking cucumber, it will not be exactly the same – the original characteristics will have morphed. That includes all the heirlooms. You have to wait out the year to see, and even save from year to year, and not many people have the time or space to do this. You can save 100+ seeds from a single cucumber ready to grow again next year. Remove the seeds and let them ferment in a pail for three days the same as tomato seeds to remove the gel around them. Next season, plant your saved seeds one inch deep. (See : How To Save Heirloom Tomato Seeds) And once all of your vegetable seeds are saved and stored, you will be armed and ready for planting your garden next year – with zero expense! Mark 1 or 2 early good fruits on each plant to leave for seed, and then pick and eat later fruits. Most of the time, the result is a … Allow the seeds to completely dry out for a week or longer depending on size. The cucumber must also stay on the vine until it is past an edible stage. Once you have mastered the act of saving your cucumber seeds, why not move onto tomatoes. It is extremely rewarding to plant them year after year, with the same delicious results. They are considered wet seeds. They will enlarge and turn yellow. Before saving cucumber seeds, you'll first need to make sure you are dealing with an open-pollinated or non-hybrid variety, otherwise known as an heirloom. To remove this sack, place the seeds in a dish and cover with water. Save Seeds from the Best Plants. To save seed is to participate in the process of natural selection. It all started at a young age with a love for the outdoors, followed by a keen interest in goats, which turned into a love for raising ducks and mangalica pigs on the Plains of Hungary. The first step to saving cucumber seeds is to isolate your plant before it fruits. It's important to keep an eye on the cucumbers you'll be harvesting throughout the season to ensure they don't look like they're diseased in any way. Step 6 – Place seeds on a paper towel or screen until they are thoroughly dry. For successful seed saving, you must assure seed purity. This post may contain affiliate links. So if you don’t practice crop rotation very often and like to plant things in the same location year after year, then this method might work wonderfully for you. Leave them in the water until the pulp separates from each individual seed. At this point you can safely remove the bags from all your cucumber plants—just make sure you keep the female fruit tagged so you remember to harvest it for seed and it doesn't end up in a salad by mistake. Never save seeds from a diseased plant. So, if you’d like to save your garden seeds, plan to keep different varieties of the same family apart, or isolate them during their reproductive cycle. They should stay on the vines until the vines are dead. Harvesting unripe seed doesn’t work, and immature seeds never germinate. Seeds from biennial crops such as carrots or beets are harder to save since the plants need two growing seasons to set seed. To save cucumber seeds, the fruits must be allowed to mature far past the stage they're usually eaten – until they're ripe and have turned orange or yellow. Read More. There are many methods you can use to ensure a prosperous garden each year, and saving seeds from heirloom or open-pollinated varietals is a wonderful way to almost always guarantee a plant's vitality. Remove the good seed and spread them on a screen or on paper towels to dry thoroughly. If stored properly, your cucumber seeds will remain viable for 10 years. Allowing the cucumber to then sit for about 2 more weeks before harvesting its seeds will greatly increase the seeds viability. They have flowers that are self-pollinating and seeds that require little or no special treatment before storage. However, no two fruits or vegetables are alike, so when it comes to saving seeds, each varietal is different. (By comparison, a cucumber or zucchini must go long past ripeness, ... Mr. Greene advised, save its seed, in case supply is short. Place a tiny bit of warm water in a bucket, then place all of the seeds in there as well. 7. This can take anywhere from 1 to 3 days, and will smell like a gently fermenting cucumber salad. Once you've identified the female blossoms, you can bag them individually in spun polyester or cotton bags, which will prevent insects from pollinating—and therefore crossing—them. A dark closet in a cooler part of the house or a dry, cool basement are both good spaces to store seeds for a year or two. Stir the contents at least once a day. Herein, lies the difference. Store dry seeds in a cool garage that is frost-free. 6. The reason you’ll do this is to remove the gel coating that surrounds these types of seeds. Every gardener and homesteader knows, or will quickly find out, that cost tops the list of reasons to save their own garden seeds. After the coating is removed, rinse seeds and spread them out on wax paper. Squashes and cucumbers cannot cross pollinate. Cucumbers, on the other hand, require a … You don't want bees pollinating the cucumber plants you'll be saving seeds from, so this is the part where you play Mother Nature yourself. To harvest the fruit and collect the seeds, you'll want to follow a few simple steps. This puts you at risk of spreading the virus to next year’s plants through this year’s seeds. 3. Saving vegetable seeds can help preserve the particular variety you are growing (for example if you are growing an heirloom variety). Label and store your saved cucumber seeds in an envelope, breathable cotton bag or a glass jar in a cool, dry place. Wet seeds, such as tomato and cucumber seeds, often need to be fermented to remove pulp and germination-inhibiting substances. However, some people use this method every year so they don’t have to save seeds or plant a garden. Since most home growers don't operate large-scale farms with that much available space, isolation for cucumber seed collection requires a few nuanced measures, following by pollination and finally harvesting. Bring them inside and store them in a dry spot out of direct sunlight until the cucumber softens. The first step is to choose your best-looking tomatoes. It may sound like extra work but the results can be extremely rewarding and save you money in the process. The time to save cucumber seeds is when the fruit on the plant is ripe. Follow the same process with the adjacent male flowers, making sure to tag the bags that contain the female blossoms so you can easily identify them later as the ones you'll harvest for seeds. Once a day, stir the mixture thoroughly. Colleen Vanderlinden is a freelance writer and the author of Edible Gardening for the Midwest. To do so, identify which blossoms are female by looking for a tiny cucumber-like at the base of the plant. Also, be aware that some seeds can transmit disease. Scoop the pulp contents into a small bowl or mason jar, then add enough room-temperature water to cover the pulp and seeds, which will help remove their gel coating. The good news is, a monster zucchini full of mature seeds can still be eaten, cored and stuffed. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series. Sources of open-pollinated vegetables seeds include Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seeds of Change, Seed Savers Exchange, and Territorial Seed Company. Rinse the good seeds a few more times, then strain them and place them on paper towels to dry. Add enough water to equal the volume of the seed mass, and put the container in a warm spot out of direct sunlight. If you save seeds from a hybrid variety and replant them, you likely won't get any cucumbers. To remove the seed, cut into quarters lengthwise, avoiding the core, and pull apart. You find a chart listing how long seeds last, as well as seed storage tips right here! Put the quarters into a bowl of tepid water, and rub the seeds out with your fingers. It would be nice if it was as simple as scooping them out, washing and drying them off. Follow on Instagram and sign up for their newsletter for more inspirations on living a sustainable life. How to collect and save vegetable seeds: Beans, peas and corn: remove husks and allow seeds to dry out – this may take a couple of weeks, then remove casings and store. Step 7 – Label and store your saved cucumber seeds in an envelope, breathable cotton bag or a glass jar in a cool, dry place. Leave them in the water until the pulp separates from each individual seed. Why did I save them without fermentation? Here's how. While you're harvesting cucumbers to use in your kitchen, set aside a few specifically for harvesting seeds. Copyright © 2020 Rural Sprout on the Seasoned Pro Theme, 10 Attention Grabbing Heirloom Vegetables to Grow This Year, How To Hand Pollinate Tomato Flowers To Triple Fruit Production, Here’s our tutorial for saving tomato seeds. Pumpkins and melons: seeds need to be washed and set aside to dry for a week or so before storage. Typically made using a wood or PVC frame that's been covered in a spun polyester screen, the DIY device also works great to keep pollinators out. Keep the Seeds Dry Using a Silica Gel Packet or Raw Rice It's essential that the seeds remain dry while being stored. The hard brown seeds should be obvious. Tomatoes, peppers, beans and peas are good choices for seed saving. Once you have your garden planted, you’ll want to be sure not to accidentally eat all of your seed crops! Larger populations will increase the chance that a variety will maintain a higher level of genetic diversity, which is more important for long term seed saving and/or when growers regenerate their seeds often (say every 1-3 years). Cucumber seeds will last up to 5 years in proper storage – to be safe, plant them and save seeds again as often as possible! If you only knew how! As the seeds ferment, the pulp separates from the viable seeds. For example: arugula, cilantro, and lettuce seeds are easy to save because you just let the plant form flowers and go to seed, wait until the seed heads dry, and then harvest the seeds. Only harvest mature seeds from the healthiest plants. Once approximately three days have passed, you'll notice that some of the seeds have begun to sink to the bottom of the container. If stored properly, your cucumber seeds will remain viable for 10 years. Step 5 – Strain the seeds, helping to remove any remaining viscous seed cover. How to Save Seeds for Next Year Step 3: Don’t Eat Everything! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary Learn tips for creating your most beautiful (and bountiful) garden ever. Slice your cucumber in half long ways, and scoop out the seeds. In order to save seeds from cucumbers, you must let them thoroughly ripen on the vine. To pollinate the flowers you'll harvest for seeds, first use a small brush to collect the pollen from a bagged male cucumber flower. Collecting Seeds from Melons. Once all (or at least the majority of) your seeds have sunk, add additional water to the container to clean them. To harvest a cucumber for seeds, means that it will no longer be small and green. A Couple Points to Consider. Take cucumbers, for example. To soak up any moisture, place a silica gel packet in your glass jar and replace it every six months. If you suspect that your pepper plant was infected with a disease, whether it be viral or bacterial, don’t save those seeds. Any debris or unviable seeds will again float to the top, making them easy to skim off and discard. Once completely dry, your seeds can be stored in envelopes or a glass jar with a clear label specifying the date and variety. The population size for maintaining a variety is a recommended range that seed savers should use when routinely growing a crop to save seeds. That being said, some so-called hybrid seed is not really hybrid, or at least from parents that are not that different, and the offspring of these will be very like the parents. Once the fruit is done, melon and watermelon seeds simply need to be washed, dried and stored for next year. This means that cross pollination can be an issue in a smaller garden, and definitely within an allotment or community garden. You'll notice that the cucumber will be larger than its usual harvest size and will start to soften on the vine—it may also change slightly in color from green to yellowish, another good indication that it's time to harvest. Step 3 – Place the seeds in a bowl, or jar, and cover the seeds with water. This is a good indication that fermentation is occurring, which further rids the seeds of their gel coating and separates poor seeds (the floating seeds) from the viable ones (the sunken seeds). Since its my first year saving these seeds I will test the unfermented seed to see how it compares with the cleaned seed. Step 4 – Set the bowl aside and leave it in a warm space – to allow fermentation to begin. And if you harvest and save your own cucumber’s seed, be aware of the fruit’s parentage. This may make for a lovely green, uniform, well formed cucumber, but it comes with a caveat: seeds saved from hybrids are often sterile. 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Or vegetables are alike, so when it comes to saving seeds is the most cost-effective action you take. Immature seeds never germinate on the plant about collecting seeds from melons you want to save seeds dry, the... Kitchen, set aside to dry vines, plant seeds one inch deep develop for next ’... When routinely growing a crop to save seeds from this year ’ s seed, cut into lengthwise! Introducing `` one Thing '': a New Video Series ready to grow next... Is extremely rewarding to plant the next generation reverts to the top, the pulp from! Years worth of cucumber seeds, helping to remove the seed, rub. Save 100+ seeds from a hybrid variety and replant them, you 'll to. Or a Mason jar and label them for next season pair of Gardening sheers if the until... A learning opportunity, as well screen or on paper towels to dry thoroughly how to save cucumber seeds for next year... Her husband and homeschooled daughter you 're harvesting cucumbers to use in your,! 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Virus, can be extremely rewarding and save you money in the process natural... In vain if you are growing an heirloom variety ) at risk of spreading the to. And bountiful ) garden ever since the plants need two growing seasons set! Seed borne in northern Romania, amidst charming haystacks, with her husband homeschooled...