I started processing squash which in and of itself is not a big deal, but I have had a couple of requests asking me how I go about it in regards to saving seeds from them. Honestly, compared to to tomato seeds, which I ferment to break down the gell coat, it is pretty simple. First, in this instance, I washed the outsides of the fruits (and yes, squash is a fruit) so that I don’t get bits of dirt all over them when I cut them open.
Next I split them in half. With these long necked Mochata (which I am calling Baby Vi) I cut the neck off of the bulb at the end, and then split the two parts individually.
Next step, I scoop out the seed cavity with a spoon, setting the seed and connective material in a bowl. The squash pieces themselves I put into my turkey roasting pan.
Once the majority of the connective material has been separated from the seeds, I spread them out in a shallow pan which I placed on a shelf over our stove top. It stays fairly warm and dry up there and all I need to do is wait.
After just two days they are fairly dry, but they need a lot more time. Generally, two weeks is good, but you should still test them. The seeds, if you bend them, should NOT bend, and instead should cleanly snap in half. For short term storage (just a year or two) a labeled bag (and by labeled, I mean by type and year grown) is just fine. For longer term storage, shrink wrap them or use a heavy-duty freezer bag, and put them into a deep freeze. In that case they will last much longer (viability).
Seeds are alive. Literally. Squash seeds may be dry, but they do not die for quite a while (years). In a deep freeze the seed’s life functions slow down even further, extending their viability from a couple of years, to decades in some cases.
Best case scenario would be to have a perfect environmental controlled system deep underground. Even if you have them in a deep freeze, you are still contending with radiation which a building is not adequate to block entirely. A mile of rock though would. That is not a realistic thing for me though the powers that be have gone to the extent of doing this over in Europe. For my own purposes, dry storage for things I plan on growing next year, and cold storage for things I plan on growing at some point in a few years, fulfills all of my requirements. I have a lot of seeds stored. I do not run a seed vault.
Ordinarily, I would store all of the squash fruits whole, and just eat them as we wanted to over the course of the winter. The squash pictured at the top will store just fine up to a year. Does not mean they all will, just that some will. I have had so many requests for seeds this year though, that I need to do them in batches so that I have some quantity of seed available. For winter storage, we just put the fruits on shelves in a cool part of the basement. You need to pick specific fruits to store. You want them to have a stem attached intact, for the fruits to have been properly cured, and NO BRUISING. The reason for having the stems intact is so that if they are broken off of the fruits, they will start to rot at that point after a few months. Curing the fruits means exposing them after being picked to direct sunlight, on all sides, for 7-10 days after picking. This hardens the fruit’s skins and prevents damage. If you drop a fruit, just assume it is bruised and eat or process it soon. With mochata squashes, the first indication of the fruit “going” is that it will start to weep a thick sap from whatever the injury point is. If you see this (and sometimes it does not happen for some months) just process and eat it then.
