Giant Pumpkins NZ - Saving Seeds
At the end of your giant pumpkin season, you may want to save your pumpkin seeds for next year. This is how you go about it.
- First select your best pumpkin if you have multiple pumpkins
- Extract the seeds from the pumpkin/s
- Wash and rinse the seeds in soapy luke warm water, making sure to wash them thoroughly. Do not use hot water, and do not let the seeds soak in the water
- Drain the seeds with a strainer
- Spread the seeds out onto a screen
- Stir the seeds for the first two days, and turn them over as you do it
- Allow the seeds to air dry in a cool dry area for three weeks, do not cut the time shorter even if the seeds appear dry, there is no harm in leaving them for longer.
- Store the seeds in a bag envelope or a jar, an airtight container is not ideal because if the seeds have not dried out properly, they will get mold and rot.
- Mark the seeds with the date and the name/type of the pumpkin they came from
- You can store them in the freezer until next planting, as the cold dark environment won’t harm them
Here are the photos of my seed removal
