The Ins & Outs of Saving Squash & Pumpkin Seeds for Next Year

Saving seeds at home is a great way to save money in your garden practice, and it comes with other benefits as well. For one, seeds year after year slowly evolve to perform best in your garden’s particular ecosystem and climate. It’s also a great step towards self-sufficiency.

Many seeds are easy to save for next year. Pepper seeds from the hard garden are as simple as drying out a pepper and using the seeds in it. Bean and pea seeds are as easy as letting the pods grow and dry on the vine. Lettuces and brassicas are just a matter of letting the plant mature and seed pods form.

Squash and pumpkin seeds, too, are very easy to save, but there is a complication that’s very important to understand to keep next year’s squash true to form. Then, it’s just a matter of choosing wisely and planting for success again and again.

Three Species of Squash Plants

The thing to understand about squash plants is that, despite the numerous varieties we’ve grown to love, there are basically three species we deal with (and a couple of others that are rarer).

In other words, that zucchini, yellow squash, and spaghetti squash are all the same species, they are just different varieties. Where this is important is that they can cross-pollinate, creating a new plant that isn’t like either parent.

So, to get true seeds, it’s important not to plant the same squash species near one another. There are three common species that most familiar squash and pumpkin plants fall into: Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata.

Which Squashes Are Which Species

Though there are only a few squash species to worry about, there are dozens upon dozens of varieties to be aware of when saving squash seeds. By far, Cucurbita pepo has the lion’s share of popular squash varieties, but C. maxima and C. moschata have multiple varieties as well.

When saving squash and pumpkin seeds, it’s imperative to know what you are planting so that you don’t put two or more of the same species too close to one another. So, pay attention to what species you are planting, but here are some common varieties to be aware of for each species.

• Cucurbita pepo: yellow squash, zucchini, spaghetti, patty pan, ornamental gourds, small sugar pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns
• Cucurbita maxima: blue hubbard, candy roaster, buttercup, kabocha, Lakota, banana, Boston marrow
• Cucurbita moschata: butternut, calabaza, golden cushaw, Long Island cheese pumpkin, musquée de Provence

Isolation Distance

To be sure that the seeds you are saving are true to the squash you are harvesting them from, there needs to be an isolation distance of half a mile between plants that are the same species.

In essence, this means that to save sugar pumpkin seeds, it will need to be at least half a mile from any other Cucurbita pepo (yellow squash, patty pan, jack-o-lanterns, etc.). Otherwise, these two plants will cross-pollinate to produce a completely new type of squash next year (from the seed you save).

That said, squashes from different species can be planted next to each other without cross-pollinating. That means a blue hubbard planted next to butternut will provide true seeds because they are different species.

The Beauty of Saving Squash/Pumpkin Seeds

The great thing about saving squash seeds is that, once the species conundrum is solved, the seed saving is quite simple. The fruits should be allowed to fully mature and ripen (summer squashes are rarely allowed to do this), and the seeds will dry inside the fruit.

For winter squashes and pumpkins, by the time they are harvested, the seeds are already viable for use to produce next year’s crops. It’s just a matter of pulling them from the fruit and drying them out on a windowsill for a few days.

Pumpkin and squash seeds should be stored in a cool, dry place and planted when there is no threat of frost remaining. In reality, they are very willing participants in producing new plants. They are notorious for popping up in compost bins or where one of last year’s fruits rotted on the ground.

Related Content:

• Pumpkin Seeds: Why Everyone Should Add This Perfect Seed to their Diet
• 8 Tips on Sowing and Saving Seeds
• A Little Guide to Growing Squash, from Acorn to Zucchini
• Squashes, Pumpkins, and Root Veggies: The Health Benefits of Fall’s Bounty
• How to Get Seeds for Free

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