Squash seed

[seedtrader-teg]

I pick the squash seeds out, put them in a wire strainer, rinse them off. Dry them with a paper towel, and put them back in the strainer to dry. This way, air gets all around them and they don't stick to paper things.

I go stir them up, everyday, for 3-7 days.

Two types of squash, can be planted, if their bloom times are staggered, meaning one type of squash pumpkin, is older than another, such as summer squash started early, and pumpkins a month later.

Also, two non crossing squash can be planted, ones from the curshaw family, and one from c. Pepo, or from the other two squash families, Mochata and Mixta.

One can look up info on this on the net.

I had a surprise hybrid summer squash last year, that I think was a Yellow Summer Squash and Acorn Squash cross. See 1st image above.

It was a good plant, and kept putting the squash out.

I didn't save seed to them though.

I had one surprise green zucchini on a very late planted squash plant, and only 2 small acorn squash.

So without that hybrid, I would have had only 3 squashes.

The hybrids may not taste the best, but if they come up, they are free food.

Tasteless squash can be used as a thickener in baked goods, or put in a soup, mixed with broth and flavorings, etc.

I had so much of the hybrid squashes, I still have some frozen, waiting to become hot winter soup.

 

[Smart Red]

From what you are describing it sound as if the seeds had not matured. I grow luffa. My season is too short so I have to play a lot of tricks on them to produce the fruit. The seeds never look developed-they are paper thin. I leave them on the vine well past growing season. I think my season is too short for that final maturation of seed.

For some reason I find pulling the roots and leaving the fruit hanging in the shed root, vines and all, will do better at drying the fruit then picking just the fruit before ripe.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

The fruit was huge, oblong and dark, dark green!! Maybe if they had another month - still, it was not one of our cool growing years. I wasted the space for the season waiting for them, thinking they just might turn orange but then, their zucchini genes may never have allowed it.

Steve

This may make me throw the seeds away. LOL. I will take pictures of the squash I try to save next summer. The ones from the friends, I will just try to dry them the best I can. I will cook this one here in the next day or so and see what it tastes like. I may just be saving the seed to sprout and grow one plant to see if I saved the seed correctly.

 

[dickiebird]

Interesting that this came up today as I just started a bunch of Acorn Squash seeds that were saved a couple of years ago.
I've never tried to start squash indoors before so this is something new for me.
I've got 3, 72 cell flats started, toms, onions, squash, cucks and eggplant.
All the seeds I'm starting this year are left over stuff that never got used in previous years, so I'll see how this goes.
In years past I've had as many as 300 to 400 seedlings and busted my butt to get what I didn't sell, in the ground.
I tried selling at farmers markets but they charged me more than I could ever make back selling plants.
This year I'll have plenty for me and some for friends.

THANX RICH

 

[catjac1975]

Interesting that this came up today as I just started a bunch of Acorn Squash seeds that were saved a couple of years ago.
I've never tried to start squash indoors before so this is something new for me.
I've got 3, 72 cell flats started, toms, onions, squash, cucks and eggplant.
All the seeds I'm starting this year are left over stuff that never got used in previous years, so I'll see how this goes.
In years past I've had as many as 300 to 400 seedlings and busted my butt to get what I didn't sell, in the ground.
I tried selling at farmers markets but they charged me more than I could ever make back selling plants.
This year I'll have plenty for me and some for friends.

THANX RICH

You need to start them in something where the roots will not be disturbed when you plant them. Squash family seedlings get stunted easily if disturbed. I only use peat pots..

 

[Pulsegleaner]

OK my weigh in

Are gourds edible ?

Depends on the gourd. By and large Pepo gourds (most of the ones you see in the fall) are not; they tend to have too many saponins. Maxima "gourds" can be (since a lot are basically tiny pumpkins and squashes) but the trick is figuring out if you have a Maxima or a Pepo. Plus some of them have saponins too.

Lagenaria (bottle gourd, as well as cucuzzi (well some cucuzzis) ) IS edible, provided you harvest it young and immature (adult, it's way to hard and there really is no flesh)

Benicasa (hairy gourd and "wax gourd" (a.k.a winter melon) are both edible at pretty much any stage as far as I know, though I have no clue how ripe the fruits usually are when harvested. Hairy gourd is sort of zuchinnia like, so I assume it's pretty underripe (actually, I don't know if hairy gourd isn't simply usually a wax gourd that's picked really, really young) Bear in mind though, most of you (and me) are probably too far north to grow this one successfully (despite the name, winter melon is not all that cold tolerant, it's called that because it stores well, and is "cooling" to the body in summer.) And you need a LOT of space to grow it (normal winter melons are 80-100 pounds a fruit for the commoner strains (there are smaller fruited ones listed in some lists) so you either have to be able to sell it by the slice (like the Chinese do) or make a HELL of a lot of soup.

Snake gourd (Tricosanthes ) and bitter gourd/melon (Mormordica) are both edible provided they are immature and you scrape out the seeds in the center, though, as the name suggests, bitter melon is very bitter (the best way I can describe the taste is green bell pepper soaked in concentrated quinine) Tecnically, bitter melon is still edible ever when it has gone ripe and orange, though it will by then be bitter beyond pretty much all tolerance (on the other hand, the white sacs around the seeds will be blood red, slimy, and very, very sweet (bitter melon is in the same genus as Gac fruit) Just don't swallow the actual mature seeds, they ARE poisonous.) I have no clue on the edibility of overripe snake gourd (their innards turn pasty and yellow).

Ivy gourd (tindora) follows the same rules as above.

From what you are describing it sound as if the seeds had not matured. I grow luffa. My season is too short so I have to play a lot of tricks on them to produce the fruit. The seeds never look developed-they are paper thin. I leave them on the vine well past growing season. I think my season is too short for that final maturation of seed.

Luffa is one of those things you have to shop around for until you find a cold tolerant/ short season strain. I think I read that angled luffa (actangulata) is a bit more short season than smooth (cylindrica)

GWR, there have been a number of things like the adzuki beans I mentioned recently that just could not mature. I might have used them as green beans or something but not as mature seed.

Steve

Again, it's a matter of finding the right one. That's one of the big reasons I'm willing to spend all this time playing around with azukis and rice beans and such, mass plantings of these odder strains is how you find short season. Though I freely admit so far it hasn't been all that much of a sucess. Out of all the adzuki's I have ever planted, I've only had about six actually make any seed that reached maturity for me here in the lower Hudson, and the only one that was a real success (as in making more than one or two mature pods before conking out) has some problems with size (its on the small size, at mung bean proportions) and asthetics (since it's seed coat is brown with black mottling the bean paste it makes is probably not a pleasing color)

 

[digitS']

I'd like to like @Pulsegleaner 's post X 3 !



@Nifty should draft him for a "Growing of the Possible" book.

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I'd prefer a title like "The Green Mule: Gardening For The Irredeemably Stubborn and Bull Headed" .

BTW, I still have a pound or so of the "right" kind of rice beans for northern lats (or at least, those I think are the origin of the "right" kind. Managed to track down 15 pounds or in Flushing a few weeks ago. So anyone who wants any, PM me (between critters and the fact that only some of them usually work, when making your request ask on the generous side. I still have quite a few places left to cover, so it is possible I'll have more down the road.)

 

[catjac1975]

I just found out this year that luffas are edible when they are young. I did not try them. I love the dried luffa for the shower and cleaning veggies.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

They basically taste like zucchini, just with a tougher skin.

Technically, there's a third species out there (well truly technically there are a whole lot of them, but there is a third one that can be sort of useful). Native seeds sells (or at least sold, I don;t know if they still do) Luffa operculata , a similar species in use to the other two EXCEPT that since it is only about egg sized, it is less use for scrubbing backs (but can be handy as an organic dish scrubby)