Squashes come in all shapes and sizes! At this time of year, they fill our vegetable gardens and are a colourful and delicious way of brightening up our meals. Large, small, long, short, round or flat – the choice is endless! We invite you to take part in a new project: harvesting squash seeds. We are interested in the seeds of green/yellow squash, spaghetti squash and other members of the Cucurbita family.

How to harvest squash seeds:

Wait until the squash are fully ripe, when the stalks begin to dry. October is the ideal month in which to harvest seeds, but don’t wait too long: be sure to pick your squash before the first frost! Always harvest in dry weather.

Once you have picked your squash, here’s what to do:

● Cut the squash open
● Scoop out the seeds
● Separate the seeds as much as possible from the (often stringy) flesh
● Put the seeds in a sieve and rinse them thoroughly under the tap
● Spread the rinsed seeds on a plate
● The next day, unstick all the seeds that are stuck to the plate
● Let the seeds dry for one week in a well-ventilated area. Next, carefully label your seeds. Lastly, drop them off at our premises.

We will add them to our seed bank.