Seed-Saving Part 2: Storing Beans, Squash, and Other Large Seeds

If you’ve already gone through the basics of our first installment of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/seed-saving-part-1-harvesting-and-storing-herb-tomato-and-berry-seeds/"> DIY Seed Saving</a>, you’ve probably gotten the hang of preserving and storing smaller seeds and you're now aiming to expand your repertoire. The harvest season will stretch out for the next few months, so there’s a plethora of produce just waiting to spill its seed into your eager hands<a href="http://inhabitat.com/studies-show-that-americans-are-growing-more-of-their-own-food-than-ever-before/"> for next spring's garden.</a> If you haven’t gone through said basics, we'd recommend reading through<a href="http://inhabitat.com/seed-saving-part-1-harvesting-and-storing-herb-tomato-and-berry-seeds/"> our previous article</a> to get a general idea of what it’s all about, so the references made in this piece aren’t just random clicks and buzzes.

To save squash and pumpkin seeds, place the stringy innards into a colander or sieve as you’re hollowing out the shell. Let these seeds soak in warm water for a few minutes to loosen the flesh that’s sticking to them, and then slop them around under briskly running water to rinse off the last bits of goo still attached. Spread these seeds across the same screen you used for the smaller seeds and let them dry in a dark, dry place for about a week, and then store in a paper bag until they’re dry.

The way to save melon seeds is similar to that for squash, but it's really best to save these from plants that have grown in your own garden, rather than those you've bought from a store or farmer's market, because the seeds become more viable the longer the plant is left on the stem.

To save cucumber and melon seeds from your own garden plants, leave a couple on the stalks, elevated from the earth by a couple of bricks or rocks so they get air circulation around them. A couple of weeks after they've become ripe enough to pick, their skins will have thickened and hardened significantly and the seeds within will have matured exponentially. The pips within will be far more likely to bear fruit once planted. Just rub the seeds gently with a cloth to remove the gel membrane around them, and dry them as you would squash seeds.

Note: melons need to be grown in isolation or they'll cross-pollinate and won't bear fruit. If you plan to grow melons in your garden next spring, stick to one variety, or if you really need to grow more than one, plant them at opposite ends of your property and hand-pollinate them.

Beans are incredibly easy to save. Let some of the big, heavy bean pods dry out in the sun, and once they’re nicely shrivelled, toss them into a paper bag for a few weeks to dry out even further. You’ll then be able to crack them open with ease to extract the hard, dried bean inside it, and then store those in paper bags or sealed glass jars until you’re ready to slow-cook them or shove them into the earth next planting season.

Some people choose to store the entire dry bean pod instead of shelling them to get the seeds out, and that’s fine too—just use the method that you feel most comfortable with.

You'd be surprised how many plants you can grow from just a couple of seeds, so don't hesitate to be generous in sharing and trading seeds with others.