saving cucumber seeds

[rxkeith]

never saved cucumber seeds before.
shouldn't be hard right.
pick some really ripe yellow cucumbers.
sqoosh out the seeds into a jar
add a little water, and let them set for a few days until the gel is off the seeds.
rinse and dry then package them up, right?

i have had a tough cucumber year.
planted, and replanted. some got hoed up by mistake, not by me.
woodchuck trimmed a bunch of others.
only hill that survived is a pickle type with black spines from sandhill preservation. this one has done very well,
and continues to produce all the cucumbers that we can eat. i don't remember which one it is with all the replanting
i did, but i am saving seeds by golly. this cucumber has thrived in spite of everything. c'mon woodchuck, you want a piece
of me. go ahead, make my day!


keith

[pepperhead212]

As long as there are no other varieties growing nearby, you should have no problems saving the seeds! Good luck!

[slugworth]

Leave the yellow cuke on the vine as long as possible.
When the cuke is on the verge of rotting,take the seeds out.
Make sure the seeds are meaty and not flat as a pancake.
I have a cuke now fatter than my leg I am waiting to put the squeeze on.
One year I let a cuke mummify then planted the entire thing.
I had about 50 plants in a space of about 6 inches and they don't like their roots to get disturbed.
Suyo Long variety,I swear they get smaller with each year saving the resulting seeds.

[rxkeith]

i finally got around to sqooshing out the cucumber seeds.
i had 12 or more cukes that i collected in a bucket before a hard frost. i brought the bucket
in doors, and put it on our unheated porch, and left it for a few weeks. i kept finding other things to do,
so there they sat. today was the day. there were a couple in the bucket that were beginning to liquefy.
i left them alone. the others were nice, and yellow, some were on the verge of going south. i sliced them in half
length wise, and cleaned the innards out into a metal steamer insert, the kind that fits into the top of a pot. i
thought that would get rid of some excess liquid. it didn't really. all that gel must have blocked up the holes a bit.
i now have a half gallon mason jar about 2/3 full of cucumber goop, and seeds. how long do i let the goop set.
i do 5 to 7 days with tomato seeds. is it about the same with cucumbers?
there are a lot of seeds.


keith

[Whwoz]

Leave it about the same as with the tomatoes, if you want, you could add some yeast to the mix to help kickstart the ferment. You need all of the goop to breakdown and liquify so that you can rinse it off. If not fully broken down after about a week, let it go a bit longer, temperature will have a big effect on ferment speed.

[rxkeith]

i think i will forego the yeast. i know what yeast does when baking bread. i have an image of waking up one morning
and seeing a frothy mess seeping out of the jar down the window sill, on to the counter, down the front of the cabinet drawers
and on to the floor.

no yeast


keith

[slugworth]

no need to ferment.
just squeeze them out and inspect to make sure they are mature.
toss out any paper thin specimens.