zucchini seeds

it is about time to be pulling the seeds out of the summer squash you saved for seeds,
and this is all the exact same for your winter squash seeds.
you want them to sit around and let the seeds mature for a few months, but not so long that the squash goes bad, and one was starting to mold to much (a little bit I just clorox and rinse clean), so it was time for me,
here are the zucchini that I let get big on the vine to get seeds from them,

of the 4 I saved only 2 had seeds, and the biggest one did not have any seeds, so save way more than you want if you want any at all.

so it is pretty easy to do, just open them up and try not to cut the seeds when doing it, pull out the seeds,
then wash them off if you feel like doing so, (I do this step sometimes), just use cold tap water with the seeds in a screen.

then lay the seeds out to dry, I use paper to put them on because it wicks the water away faster,

I also add a label (just a small paper that goes with the seeds) at this point so I don't loose track of what seeds are what,
I let them dry on the paper for a few weeks if I have the space,
then I put them in small paper bags with the top open

I leave them in the bags for another month to keep drying if they were not dry before,
then I transfer the seeds to paper coin envelopes

this lets any residual moisture in the seeds get out, if you put them in plastic to early they can rot.
I leave them in the paper till early spring where I either plant them or vacuum pack them for long term storage.