Seed Saving : Cucumber
When do you save seeds from a cucumber?
After a cucumber becomes yellow or orange while still attached the vine, you can pick it and harvest the seeds. You can also leave the cucumber on your counter for a few days if you aren’t able to harvest the seeds right away.
Can you save seeds from a green cucumber?
In most cases, cucumber seeds are not fully ripe and viable until the cucumbers mature on the vine. Cucumbers generally turn yellow or orange at this point. Green cucumbers, especially those from the grocery store, mostly tend to have softer, less firm seeds. Still, if you find a few tough or more developed cucumber seeds in a green cucumber, it hurts nothing to try saving and planting them.
What do cucumber seeds look like?
Cucumber seeds are relatively flat and oval in shape with pointed ends. The cucumber seed colour is a light cream or off-white to a subtle tan. Seeds from cucumbers are lightweight.
How to Save Cucumber Seeds Quickly and Easily
- Get yourself an overripe, yellow cucumber and follow these steps on how to harvest cucumber seeds to save for next season!
- Place a yellow cucumber on a cutting board.
- Shallow cut the cucumber, cutting longwise all the way around without pressing the knife completely through the fruit.
- Gently twist or pinch to separate the two halves of the cucumber.
- Using the edge of the knife, you can gently scrape out the seeds from inside the cucumber.
- Spread the seeds out on an uncoated paper plate or a clean, dry paper towel.
- Allow the seeds to dry for at least 24 hours and then gently mix them around, separating them from the paper plate or paper towel so they can dry fully.
- Continue to mix the seeds throughout the week, letting them air dry for a week or two before storing them.
- Save fully dried seeds in paper seed envelopes for best results.
Cucumber Seed Saving Tips:
- Save the Best Ones: When you harvest cucumber seeds, try to let one of the best cucumbers become overripe and mature for seed saving. This helps to pass on the best traits to future generations of cucumbers in your garden!
- Label the Cucumber Type: With so many kinds of cucumbers available to grow, be sure to write down the year and type of cucumber on the seed envelope.
