How to save Zucchini / courgette seeds.. Also works for squash & pumpkins..
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 1 янв 2014
- Have left this zucchini/courgette on the vine for seed saving purposes & decided it was time to harvest the fruit and save the seeds after a viewer prompted me, thanks Voca T :)
It is a really easy process that only takes a matter of minutes to do & requires no special tools.. All you need is a knife & a plate to dry them out.. I like to give them a quick wash before they are set aside to dry.. Just so they look nice & clean..
Subscribing to us at Bits Out the Back is as easy as clicking below
ruclips.net/user/subscription_c...
You can also find Bits Out the Back on Facebook, Instagram & G+ where we post mini updates on the aquaponics/aquaculture, chooks, worms, wicking bed gardens & other small tidbits..
Bitsouttheback
& on Instagram at bits_out_the_back
Have a great one everyone... 
Хобби
I love - *LOVE* - saving seeds. It feels good to grow food, but to know you saved seed so that you can grow *more* food, and from the food you grew before. Great stuff. Thanks Rob Bob
I get a bit of a buzz still when I pick that first fruit from a plant grown from saved seed Jared.. Probably always will ;)
Cheers sir & sorry I missed your comment previously..
Rob.
This video was really what I was looking for. I have a wonderful kind of zuchini/squash from Turkey, which is white and delicious in Turkish dishes. I've allowed one fruit to grow to an enormous size and hope that I can use your technique to get a new supply of seeds for the future. It's amazing that the plant grows so well in northwestern Europe.
Is great to hear the clip has helped you out some Millard.. Hope the saved seeds do well for you too.. Have just sown out some vining zucchini seeds for the first time & am looking forward to see what they do..
Cheers & all the best,
Rob..
Tnx for vid, I've seen some others where they've been harvesting the vege while it's still green. But seeing how you do it looks better, for one the seeds look more plump and healthy.
I absolutely LOVE the fact that a pro like you was unsure about the type of zucchini you had. I can relate because i had a volunteer plant come up in my front yard garden bed which i identified as some sort of zucchini, squash, pumpkin, gourd, etc.... vine. I transplanted it into a big pot and let it go, just to see what it was. A couple of months later I have fruit on the vine almost ready to pick, but I'm still not sure about what it is!! Could be a pumpkin, could be a squash, maybe even just a gourd! I think it is some sort of squash so when it turns completely orange I am going to cut it in half and see what I have.
Plant identification is challenging from what I've tried to learn in the past. I was part of a 'survival prep group' a few years ago and decided to learn about identifying edible plants in the wild. I discovered a field of botany so complex that you would need to get a degree in it to fully understand what you are dealing with!!
Anyway, thanks Rob, I enjoyed getting back into the gardening game and finding your helpful videos to move me along to a spectacular garden!
Hi John. I like surprise plants like that. Have a few plants that could be either melons or cucumbers just sprouting in the beds out the front at the moment.
It's great to hear the clips are giving you a few ideas to play with 👍
Have a great one mate.
great episode rob! I love saving seeds, it is always so rewarding. It is just a bummer that you can't eat a lot of the things that you let go to seed, they either get mushy, or bitter, or really woody.
Could of baked this one but the chooks would never of forgiven me Luke :D :/
They were eyeing it off the whole time I was there..
Cheers sir & have a great one..
I think you just make your chicken's day, Rob! Zucchini seeds are so easy to save and I like to use my huge zucs to save the seeds and then shred it up to use in muffins. I freeze what I can't use right away and I've been using it all winter to make zuc/banana choc. chip muffins. Kids don't even know there's zuc in them!
Sounds tasty Kim.. Another great way we like to save zucchini is to dehydrate them.. I like to toss the dried sections into stews/casseroles to help thicken them if the sauce is too thin.. You can also make a tasty snack out of them as well.. I like to peel, slice & sprinkle them with balsamic vinegar before dehydrating them.. Thinking curry dusted ones would be just as tasty as well..
The way the chooks were staring at me I thought it best that they get this one though :/ ;)
Cheers & have a great one Kim..
Thats a great tip, i probably would have just discarded the fruit. I love zucchini bread. Same concept in muffin form? Yes please 🤗
Really enjoyed the video. I think that the variety of Zucchini you have is called Costata Romanesca. I discovered this type on a trip to Nova Scotia two years ago. This summer my wife and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary in Italy. The supermarkets pretty much exclusively had this variety of zucchini , unlike the states where we have primarily smooth skin types.
Thanks for the video, as a beginner gardener I now know I need to let a few grow longer to harvest seeds!
Am glad I could help some Phillip.👍
Happy growing.
Nice and short and helpful video. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful Matti.
I made the mistake of trying to dry squash seeds in a plastic zip bag and the moisture made them rot. Love your channel Mate! You are a nice human being! Pleasure sharing Earth with you!
Have made that mistake myself Terry.. Doesn't smell the best either :/
Thanks & glad you like the clips we make..
All the best,
Rob.
Thanks Mate! Most informative!!
Cheers from Northern California (NorCal)
+Johnny Fontenot Hi Johnny & thanks mate.
Hope you had a great season there.
Rob.
i'm doing the same thing... left the biggest fruit on one plant to dry out and collect seeds from. Nice to see what it looks like when it's ready to harvest the seeds.
Nice one ZenGrow. 👍👍
Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Thanks Rob that was super helpful!
Glad it helped some MGC.
Happy growing.
Very nice and informative video, thank you!
Glad it was helpful Jenny.
Happy growing.
thanks so much - i am going to save some this summer - now that i know what to do - saved some carrots seeds from last year now zucchini this year - yay
Hope they grow well for you. 👍
As always great tips Rob!
Cheers Stephen..
Have a great one mate :)
Hi *****..
I haven't tried saving seeds from store bought as we don't see many varieties & the ones we do get like the patty pan squash are harvested when they are young.. I know that that some of the acorn & butter nuts (we call the butter nuts a pumpkin here for some reason) should be OK to save seeds from as they as left to mature on the vine..
Hope that helps some..
Nice tip!
I will be growing squash next season. It will be my first attempt growing them, so if they mature I now know how to prosess the seeds from them. :)
Had me a good laugh when I noticed one of the chickens was eye-following every move you made. Lol..
Cheers,
Halvor.
The chooks know where all the good food comes from Halvor ;)
Is really easy to do.. Ont or 3rd generation now with some of our squash & pumpkin..
Cheers & have a great one,
Rob.
Great video Rob!
I have left one of the 3 variety cucumbers in yard and will be collecting the seeds the same way :)
Just planted out our Gympie gold Cucumbers.. Gave away so many seeds I only had 15 seeds left so thought I would try for a late crop.. All cucurbits are so easy to save seeds from I think..
Cheers & have a great one..
Rob..
This answered my question
I checked this out so I can grow more of a cushaw I bought at the farmers market. I love squash cause you can cook anything with it and it's a huge amount of food for next to no effort.
Thanks for the video.
KF7RCM Hope it helped you out some.
Cheers & all the best.
Rob.
Love cocozelle and thanks for the info. My New York garden thanks you! Bloody hell!
Glad to be of some help Donna. Cheers & happy growing. 🌱🌱
Hahahahaha. Miss chookie was watching your every move hoping to get some tea
They do love their scraps Mick :D There was nothing but a thin shell of the cut halves left the next morning..
Cheers & have a great one :)
Rob.
How do you store them after they have dried? In the freezer? In a bowl in the cupboard?
thanks worked well on my 2ft long Zuchinin
Thanks
Hi there thx 4 the video. do you think if i get some zucchinis from the shop and take seeds out like you did wld they grow back? thx
Sorry for taking so long to reply Aleshaa. I don't think store bought fruit would be ripe enough as zucchini are generally picked for sale when they're fairly immature.
Hope that helps some.
My son and I kid each other by saying ," Robert is your dad's brother ". Just some fun. I do enjoy you videos . thanks.... TTFN
:D His my uncle, grandfather & friend Jim... Not all the same bloke, just seem to accumulate them ;)
Cheers & all the best,
Rob..
I only did one plant last year still couldnt eat em all and there are 5 of us. I will be trying some of the butternut squash seeds although I do not know if f1 or not never did find the seed pack. See what we get.
Dave
Butternut are one that I have never really had great harvests from..
We call the butternuts pumpkins over here.. No idea why when everywhere else calls them a squash.. Bit like paw paw & papaya methinks..
Cheers Dave & have a great one sir :)
I have been doing the same with my cucumbers, they are going yellow so quickly...
( The Gherkin Variety ) Great Vid as always Rob! :)
Nice one :) I nearly gave away all of my Gympie gold cuc's so popped some in the other day to see if we can get some seeds to save for next season..
Cheers Mate..
Question for you. I saw at the end that you fed some of the pulp to your chickens. I was thinking of growing squashes primarily for chicken feed. In your opinion/experience do they do well with large amounts of it?
KF7RCM
Not to sure how well they would go feeding on squash as a main feed source. I know they would enjoy it to begin with if they are like our girls.
I've found that if we feed too much of anything to our girls that they go off it very quickly. I have been harvesting a large amount of brassica greens for them & normally they devour it right away but have only been lightly feeding on them. Same happens with the cherry tomatoes we grow for them so I tend to only feed them one food for a few days before switching to something else.
Hope that helps a bit.
Cheers Rob, Thank you for the video. 4 Zucchini plants and one has been a super producer...last one was picked from the super producer just yesterday while the lazier plants have only begun to produce. Getting close to frost time here in North America. After learning what I have from you...should I try to encourage the producer to give me on last vegetable for seed reasons and if I can't, any suggestions?
I'm so sorry I missed this baynerw. You had the right idea I think. 👍 Dd you end up saving any seeds from the plant?
Sorry again for not getting back to you straight away.
I could not find any marrow seeds local to where I live and I only had one good one left in an old packet. I had let a morrow grow last year until it was well past it's time. I didn't even bother to remove it. When I picked it up the spring it was very light and rattled. I threw all the seeds into an 8 inch pot hoping one or two might grow. OOPS! If I planted every one I would have to include the roof of the house, there are dozens. I also didn't pick up a few odd tomatoes, same thing. I'll grow a few and see what happens.
Nice one jp. Have loads of tomato, greens & beans pop up here by using the same method.
Sorry I missed your post too.
Cheers & have a top one.
I learn a lot from you. Now I want to know can I leave my marrow or pumpkins or zucchini in the garden in winter months? I will cover it with a polithin with hole , to save it put on a tool to prevent from wet soil.
That would depend on your climate there. I know local folks here can grow them through winter in certain parts of their gardens. We live in the subtropics y the way. 😉
Hope they do well for you.
Thanks sir, I am livening in North London.To mature the seeds can I live it out side garden? Because I will not be there at winter months.@@RobsAquaponics
@@bangladesh52 I don't think they would survive a British winter sorry mate.
So if the seeds don't float I shouldn't use them? I can also try with the next fruit and let it grow longer but it was large and hard skin so assumed it was okay.
The media act as the biofilter so it's just more convenient for a hobby system. You can have a stand alone biofilter if you want &grow in media-less methods like NFT or DWC if you like. 👍
The solids filter is for solids collection where the bio is converting ammonia dissolved in the water into fish friendly nitrates. 👍
I noticed the plant with the large fruit I left on hasn't produced anymore flowers while my other plants that I've been harvesting squash from are still producing flowers even though they are finishing out their growing season.
I noticed the same thing with one of a "black jack" zucchini plant I saved seeds from a few years back. The others kept producing fine while this one stopped making female flowers. Only ever happened once though.
Hi, my courgette (not F1) looked exactly like yours when I harvested it, yellow and rock solid but the seeds are small and empty, why is this? Is it something to do with pollination? Thanks!
They may not have been quite mature enough Chi. It may have needed a few more weeks on the vine.
Question - I dried my seeds on a plate for about a week. However they are pretty shriveled and almost hollow looking. They don't look plump like if I bought a packet of seeds. Will they still germinate and produce?
It sounds like they may have been slightly immature Beth. You could try a germination test just to see how they go.
What should i do i have a Z1 hybrid courgette, green, very big been on the vine about 5 weeks but still green however the slugs have damaged quite a bit of the skin 😭 should i pick it now and hope the seeds have matured, or wait and hope it doesnt rot? Can i pick it and leave it to mature on the window for a week or two, or will it make no difference?
Sorry I got to this post a bit late Emily. Seeds from an F1 will most likely not grow true to type (like it's "mother") so they can be a bit hit & miss.
Did you manage to save any seeds?
My zucchini never made it to seed as we always eat them... lol. I didn't realize if you let them grow so long they would seed like that. Thanks.
Glad I could help some SID.
Cheers.
About the same with cucumber, Which I well be doing in about a week if all goes as planned. lol
All the cucurbits are easy to do I think.. Cuc's are just a bit more slimy to handle than the others..
Cheers sir & have sun playing with the seeds :)
RB
Can I still use zucchini flesh for breads or do they have to be over mature to save the seeds?
They need to be fully mature Midge.
Thank you for sharing this. My fruit softened and rotted before I could save the seeds. Will the seeds still be viable? Just wondering if you have had any experience with older seeds from rotted fruit? I will still try but any thoughts?
As long as the seeds are intact the should be OK David. Have had many volunteer plants sprout from fruit we've missed & rotted under the dense foliage.
@@RobsAquaponics thank you for your reply and I suppose it was an ignorant question.
Of course the natural process a fruit-bearing, dropping and decaying is what it was designed to do to reproduce after its kind.
I didn't even give it a thought until you replied.
Thank you again!!!
@@davidmichaelheavenlymusic No problem at all Mate.
Happy growing. 👍🌱🌱
Hi. I have black jack zucchini grown from seed. Are these hybrid? I have dried the seeds. hoping they will grow. I just don't know how to tell a hybrid seed
As far as I know the blackjack are an heritage variety so will grow true to type 👍
Happy growing Shaun.
If the seeds are still soft, even from a very large zucchini, will they not be good as seed next year?
They won't be sorry Gloria. It generally means that they haven't quite matured enough.
Hi Rob, I collected the seeds, dryed them out and stored them in a envelope, 1 month on and just checked them and they have all shrunk and very thin like there is nothing inside them at all. Someone said they could be sterile, is it normal for seeds to loose all their weight?
They do shrink a little Johno but you will also get almost paper thin sterile seeds as well at times.
Hope you get a few that are viable mate.
By allowing one of the zucchini's to grow to that size, will the rest of the plant stop producing? We have a small garden and we generally pull plants once they stop producing to gain more growing space but I'd also like to start saving some seeds from year to year. I know those are probably mutually exclusive goals. :-)
Hi Garth. It can slow the production of fruit but not by much from what I've seen with the plants we've grown here. It may do so more on some varieties though.
Cheers mate.
The seeds look very similar to the one a u get at the shop to munch on!
there are same but the store ones are cooked and usually salted
Bees never pollinate the zucchini so they're small and starting to rot... I can't get seeds from them correct?
This video might help you out some Emma.
ruclips.net/video/Rk8_tEPFHks/видео.html
How do I know when a zucchini marrow is mature enough to save seeds from it?
Thanks
I wait for the fruit to stop growing & the where it joins the vine to start turning brown Linda.
Hi...what is the reason seeds should be dried away from sunlight?some people say its okay alot of people also say better to keep seeds away from sunlight?also..how long are the seeds viable for?thank you
Direct sunlight can dry them out very quickly & also heat the seeds up. 👍
I've had zucchini, pumpkin & squash seeds last for up to 4 years here.
Cheers.
@@RobsAquaponics thank you so much for the information ☺take care
I thought your supposed to ferment the seeds for 2 days then dry them for 4 or they look dry in warm area then store. It says to do this also with tomato seeds.??
Tomato seeds have a gel sack around them & fermenting helps to break that down to remove it from the seeds. Zucchini don't have the same amount of coating so don't need fermenting.
Do u freeze them?
Sorry I missed this Danielle.
We don't freeze any seeds. We do cook up the fruit in meals & freeze that. I've also dehydrated the fruit to to used in meals later on in the year.
Cheers
Does the zucchini have to turn yellow?
That will depend on the variety. Some will stay green .Cheers.
@@RobsAquaponics ok. Thanks. I know some of mine go rubbery so I wasn't sure I was doing it right.
Hi Do you hand pollinate to keep your seeds pure?
Hi Vickie..
That's a great question.. I do hand pollinate to help increase the pollination rate but don't worry about cross pollination.. I think there are only 2-3 other food gardeners in the blocks around us so are fairly lucky in that respect.. It would be something to consider if you lived in an area with more gardeners though..
Cheers & have a great one..
Rob..
Thanks!
After I glean the seeds I cut the rest up in little pieces and feed it to my worm bin.
& I bet they smash through it too 👍😊
Cheers mate & have a great one.
Do you not have any problems with cross pollination? I was under the impression that cucurbits crossed pretty readily?
Hi there.. Some will cross pollinate but not all as it depends on what group/genus they are in within the Cucurbitaceae family.. Here is an article that has a good list on the different groups/genus in the family..
www.walterreeves.com/food-gardening/squashpumpkincucumberwatermelon-pollination-explanation/
Hope that helps..
Rob Bob Cheers, that's good to know. I will bookmark the link. My pumpkin and courgette are both from the same group so guess I will try and keep one or two plants under a net and hand pollinate. They are bush varieties so shouldn't be too difficult.
Hello, I'm about month into already harvesting my zucchini and squash would you say it's too late to let one go to maturity for seed? Or, can you harvest from younger fruits? It's my first year having my own garden so I'm new to most of this. I did harvest melon seeds and tomato seed from store bought with so far great result! So, I'm excited to do more. Thank you for your videos, I've been watching all day (can't do much outside in the thunderstorm).
Shaye-Brianne Hopson Hi Shaye-Brianne. Sorry for the slow reply.
Best to let them fully mature on the plant to get a good crop of viable seeds from the fruit. I tend to pick as much fruit as I can at the start & leave a fruit from later in the season on to mature. I've found that production tends to decrease once a fruit has been let go to seed. Hope the clips have given you a few useful ideas.
Cheers & have fun saving the seeds :-)
I have a few seeds germinating in a mason jar on my windowsill. I had no idea zucchini plants were so massive
Some varieties can get very large Laika.
Happy Growing. 🌱🌱
999 view's when I clicked to watch :)
I think folks have a bit of spare time on their hands with the holidays ;)
Cheers & have a great one..
Did I just see you in the comments of hunting with Stu?
Probably. I haven't managed to catch his latest one with his father yet but saw it in the feed the other day.
Thanks for the reminder. 👍
Cheers & have a top one mate.
@@RobsAquaponics haha legend! Maybe e can catch up one day!
@@HuntShootOffroad We're in limo at the moment. Decided to get back into the sport again & am kicking myself I didn't get a licence when we moved to GLD in the 80's. Applied at the start of Jan & am still waiting.
Cheers mate.
@@RobsAquaponics it'll be worth the wait! I think they typically take about 3 months for first time (opposed to a renewal).
I tried to save zucchini this year but got very few and none of them mature. Had to order more. Don't understand how a zucchini almost 50 centimeters couldn't have seeds in it.
Maybe it was a self fertile variety like the cucumbers like Bobby at MHPgardener grows.. Still not good though..
Shall talk soon about the corn as well ;)
Did you ever try to keep seeds from the squash bought in the store and try to grow it?
they can work but there are mostly hybrids you don't if give fruit and how they will look
Thank you. This is not an easy topic to look up on the internet. Probably to support commercial farming.. Thats okay though
+toke268
Am glad the clip has helped you out some.
Have a great one.
Rob.
The way I usually do it is let them pop up in the compost but I guess that is not really the right way to do it :)
:D That's the best way methinks John... The best plants always grow from the compost **nods**
Cheers mate & have a great one..
Rob.
That's how I get most of my tomato plants...
Also.. seeds that float to the top of the water during fermentation are considered bad.
I generally discard floating seeds as the ones I've opened are thin & don't appear to be fully formed inside.
I hope that helps some Marie.
I pretty much just let my zuccini cross-polinate with whatever. One or three plants may come out stunted, but have 5+ of them and there will be edible fruit, no matter what.
Thanks for the video.l love....l like to your video.l studied how about that saved zucchni seeda.can you give me some zucchini seeds.G.L.A.Kumari no 20.sarvoodaya road new town lunugamwehera .sri lanka
No sorry as I don't have any at the moment. This video is many years old.
zucchini, pumpkin, and squash are actually different varieties of the same plant. cucurbita pepo
Certainly are.. For seed saving purposes most can be harvested the same way..
Cheers & have a good one..
Ok,I seriously need to know what that song is..! BITCHIN!!!!!
Which song is that Terri? I don't remember any music in this clip.
Cheers.
The larger the zucchini the less flavor I've heard
That's right. We call the large mature ones marrow. We like to cut them in half length ways, pull out the seeds, "stuff" them with a spicy meat & veg mix, grate some cheese over & pop them in the oven.
Not much flavour to the marrow but makes for a tasty dish overall.
@@RobsAquaponics I always used to think zucchini (we call them courgette in the Netherlands) and marrow (we don't even have a word for that here) were two different plants.
This is probably the most interesting thing I'll learn today.
Cross polination dude! Thanks for this video, but you'll be very lucky to have sure phenotype traits without isolating the females from polinating insects. No?
Not many folks grow their own food around here so the chances of cross-polination would be very slim. 😉
I know of one other about a block away that is.
I think that you have to be wary, no one hits upon this. You can end getting your fertilized by other squash that are ornament and a bit toxic. I prefer to buy my courgette seeds from a reputable seller. Seen news items where people have gotten very sick eating even home grown courgettes from seeds from garden centres.
I've never heard of toxic squash so think you would be fine on that count.
Well I dont agree with everything you say...
+toke268
Feel free to share your thoughts. :)
How do you store them after they have dried? In the freezer? In a bowl in the cupboard?
I store them in a air tight ziploc style bag. All the bags are kept in a tool box in a cool section of the house.
I know folks that store their seeds in the fridge but don't think it's necessary unless you live in a very hot tropical like climate.