How to Save Pumpkin and Squash Seeds to Plant Next Year
Save seed from a fully mature pumpkin or winter squash: scoop, rinse, and dry until the seeds snap. Check the species first, because squash of the same sp...
Published by ThriveThyme
seed saving pumpkin squash fall
How to Save Pumpkin and Squash Seeds
Use a fully mature pumpkin or winter squash with a hard rind. Scoop out the seeds, rinse off the pulp, and dry them on a screen or cloth until a seed snaps instead of bending. Store them cool and dry in a labeled jar.
Before you bother, check two things. Was it a hybrid (F1)? And did another squash of the same species bloom nearby? Either one means the seed may not grow the same pumpkin next year.
Use the Seed Saving Desk to run the squash species check for your yard.
Step by Step
- Pick a ripe fruit from your healthiest plant. Winter squash and pumpkins can sit in storage until they start to lose eating quality. That gives the seed more time to finish ripening (SDSU Extension).
- Cut it open and scoop the seeds into a bowl of water.
- Rub off the pulp. Seeds that float are usually empty. Toss them.
- Spread the good seeds in one layer on a screen, cloth, or plate. Skip paper towels. Squash seeds stick to paper (UGA Extension).
- Dry them out of the sun, stirring now and then, until a seed snaps cleanly. Big seeds can take a couple of weeks.
- Store them in a sealed glass jar in a cool, dry spot. The refrigerator is ideal.
Summer squash is different. Leave one fruit on the vine well past eating size until the rind turns hard, then save seed the same way.
Will the Seeds Come True?
Squash, pumpkins, and gourds cross only with plants of the same species. Bees do the work. A cross does not change this year's fruit. It shows up in the plants you grow from the seed (Iowa State Extension).
| Species | Includes |
|---|---|
| Cucurbita pepo | Zucchini, yellow squash, acorn, spaghetti, delicata, most pie and jack-o-lantern pumpkins, ornamental gourds |
| Cucurbita moschata | Butternut, Long Island Cheese, Dickinson pumpkins |
| Cucurbita maxima | Hubbard, buttercup, kabocha, turban, giant pumpkins |
| Cucurbita argyrosperma | Cushaw |
So a jack-o-lantern pumpkin grown next to zucchini can give you odd seedlings. A butternut grown next to zucchini will not cross with it.
For pure seed, keep varieties of the same species 1/2 to 1 mile apart, or tape the flowers shut and hand-pollinate (SDSU Extension).
What About a Store-Bought Pumpkin?
The seed will sprout if the pumpkin was ripe. Most decorative pumpkins are hybrids or grown near other squash, so expect a surprise. It is a fun experiment, not a sure thing.
How Long the Seed Keeps
Pumpkin and squash seed stays good about 4 years in cool, dry storage. See the Seed Viability Desk for a quick germination test before you plant old seed.
Next Steps
- Log your batch in the seed jar on the Seed Saving Desk.
- Want seed that comes true? Start with an open-pollinated or heirloom variety next spring.
- Read can you save seeds from hybrid plants.
Sources: SDSU Extension, Saving Seed of Pumpkins, Squash, Cucumbers, Melons and Gourds. Iowa State Extension, Cross-Pollination Between Vine Crops. UGA Extension Circular 1242, Seed Saving in Georgia Gardens.