Winter Seed Saving: Pumpkins and Squash

By Jill Henderson

With Christmas just around the corner, the last thing people might be thinking of is gardening, but the two go together like pumpkin pie and whipped cream. In fact, if you grew your own pumpkins or squash this year and plan on using the sweet flesh to make delectable holiday treats with, now is the perfect time for saving their seeds. Extracting and drying seeds from hard-shelled squash and pumpkins is fairly straightforward, however, you must first be sure that the seeds you save now will come true to type next year.

Although squash and pumpkins are often seen as separate vegetables, both are winter squashes belonging to the Cucurbitaceae Family. Other garden relatives include gourds, summer squash, cucumbers and melons. Unlike their summer cousins, winter squash have relatively dry, sweet flesh. They are picked after their outer shells have hardened and the flesh fully ripened. The hard outer shell protects the flesh within, allowing winter squash to be stored for... Read the entire article at Show Me Oz

Jill Henderson is an artist, author and naturalist with a passion for wild edible and medicinal plants, organic gardening, seed saving and sustainable agriculture. She currently authors and edits the blog Show Me Oz: The Very Best of the Ozarks (http://showmeoz.wordpress.com), which focuses on building community around sustainable ideals relevant to the people of the Ozarks region and beyond. She has written three books: The Healing Power of Kitchen Herbs, The Garden Seed Saving Guide and A Journey of Seasons. Available in print and ebooks