I picked a few overripe ones just for the purpose of saving the seed. 25 Creative Ways of Remembering Loved Ones at Christmas, Pictures of Different Types of Palm Trees. Commonly Saved Vegetable Seeds. If you're going to save cucumber seeds, you need to plant an open-pollinated (bred pure) variety. Allow the cucumber to turn yellow (some varieties turn orange) and the peel to become soft. Why did they do this? Get it as soon as Mon, Dec 14. Why wasn't this page useful? I’ll share what I learn as I develop my green thumb. There is also a good way to tell if the seeds are dry enough to store in a container. Cucumbers are self-pollinating. Not all open-pollinated plants are heirlooms. This means that the male and female flowers grow on the same vine and don't require other plants for pollination. They should stay on the … Saving seeds from cucumbers uses a similiar technique to saving seeds from … Cut the cucumbers lengthwise to expose their seed. Simply take one of the seeds out and bend it in half. The important thing to remember is to ferment them so the good seeds are at the bottom, dry them thoroughly, and place them in airtight containers in a cool, dry place. "Seed to Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth. Place the seed envelope sleeve or jar in the freezer for a couple of days to ensure any possible pests or disease that resisted the fermentation process are removed. Store cucumber seeds in a cool, dark, and dry place in an airtight container to keep out moisture and humidity. However, seed saving requires a little planning if you want to make sure that your open-pollinated seeds remain pure, since zinnias can be cross-pollinated by insects from different varieties. And if you harvest and save your own cucumber’s seed, be aware of the fruit’s parentage. If you select too early, the plants may have not matured enough to produce good seed. Wait too late, and you leave a better chance for the seed to cross with another variety. Most veggie seeds can be saved, and the people who saved their vegetable seeds at one time usually saved some from every growing season, which meant the following season had a head start every time and was guaranteed to grow well for the rest of the season. You want to allow the seeds to dry completely before storing. Seeds for saving must be fully developed on the plant or vine. Strain the good seeds through a mesh sieve and gently rinse them to ensure all the gel sac is gone. Discard the flesh, which has become bitter. As a general rule, you should keep the seeds in the freezer for two days, although an extra day or two won’t hurt them; ferment them in the water mixture for a minimum of three days, although you can leave them there for five days if you like; and dry them out for several days or even a few weeks. Saving Cucumber Seed: Here is Josie, aged 2, saving cucumber seed. The seed might not be pure, as there were pickling cukes in the same field, but I think its worth a try to save the seed. $10.99 $ 10. Saving seeds from mature fruit in the middle of the season is your best bet for collecting high-quality seed. The second purpose is to kill any diseases or viruses the seeds might harbor. These can be discarded. To remove the seeds, there has to be a method to your madness, so to speak. Why? Please help us improve. Many cucumber varieties (like the one I tried to save seed from) are parthenocarpic, which means that the female flowers with produce fruit without being fertilized by pollen from a male flower. "The Seed Savers Handbook" Jeremy Cherfas, (Grover Books, 1996) is also good and also talks in more detail about the reasons that you might want to save your own seeds. Add a small amount of warm water, cover the bowl and let the seeds sit for three days. If you search the internet for suggestions on how you can save and store cucumber seeds, you’ll likely get some different numbers when it comes to storage and drying times. Cucumber seeds saved from a previous growing season are called heirloom seeds, and this is a very popular thing to do, even though some of the steps mentioned above are a little easier if you’re a commercial grower. Label with the cucumber variety and date stored. A plant that is struggling or producing malformed cucumbers isn't a good candidate for seed harvesting. The seeds will need to ferment to remove the outer coating on the seeds. Next season, plant your saved seeds one inch deep. Once you learn how easy it is to save and store cucumber seeds for next year's crop, you may decide to try saving other vegetable seeds. Lastly, seeds can transmit some diseases, so be sure that when cucumber seed saving, no disease has infected the crop that you are trying to harvest. So, to make it easy on yourself, just stay away from seeds that belong to hybrid cucumbers. Some seeds are easier to save than others. When the seeds are completely dry, you can store them away until you’re ready to use them. Sow Right Seeds - Cucumber Seed Collection for Planting - Armenian, Pickling, Lemon, Beit Alpha Variety Pack, Non-GMO Heirloom Seeds to Plant and Grow a Home Vegetable Garden, Great Gardening Gift. Skim the bad seeds and pulp from the surface and discard. As you can see, the maximum times don’t matter as much as the minimum times, because you’ll want to make sure the job gets done correctly at each step. These include serpent gourds, Armenian cukes, and West Indian gherkins. Only disease-free cuke seeds will produce good results. You select too early, the description will state it is best to ferment to remove them at end! The cucumbers grow until it begins to turn yellow on the seeds you re. 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