From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Granite Bay Ca

How do you wash and dry your seeds ??

11/6/2008 11:04:13 PM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

I harvest by squooshing through the 'guts' as I pull it out by the handful, and use an old thrift store colander to collect them, trying to get most of the other stuff off at the time.

I take them in and rinse gently under some running tepid tap water and rub gently with fingers to get the slime feeling. If you get one of those half round ones with little feet, those colanders work great. Stand it in an old pie plate to catch water, and...

I wipe each one with paper towel and spread on old window screen still in frame so they don't touch each other and put over my bathtub in the 'catchall' extra bathroom. This has good air circulation, else you might add a small fan.

Turn seeds over at least every two hours for the first day or so (this is the late hours use bathroom so whoever goes in to go stirs seeds and pats them flat again).

After about two weeks of turning them once a day you should have dried out ready to go seeds. Make sure to take a finepoint sharpie marker and write the weight on them, and it's nice to add the year too. And the little * if they're a squash. I will sometimes take a paper towel and polish them a little.

If you get dark or light spots or fur (mould) they aren't drying right, not enough air circulation. Wipe with bleach water (10% bleach to water) dampened rag and start drying again. They will discolor (have spots because of the mould)but should be fine. You should be able to get them to dry without this though by getting enough air flow and keeping them from touching.

11/7/2008 12:06:16 AM

Colorado

wash them good in a colander.spread them out on newspaper.run a fan over them till the clear membrane comes easily off the seed.Put them in a breathable container such as a paper lunch bag for at least four weeks to allow the inside of the seed to get real dry.then store them in a mouse proof container such as a mason jar in a cool dark place

11/7/2008 12:21:18 AM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

Wash them under or in warm water and drain off as much water as possible. Dry them at romm temp. for two weeks on 5 or 6 plies of newspaper. They process is complete when the membrane dries and flake off. Store them as stated by cojoe.

11/7/2008 5:48:19 AM

A dab of anti-bacterial dish soap added to the washing works well to cut the slime.

Screens with a fan below them get the job done well and within 10 days usually they are finished.

Remember that IF there is any chance of "critters" in the drying area,,,protect the seeds with screens stacked on top of each other. Every year someone has a mouse story.

11/7/2008 6:36:25 AM

Ohio

ditto on what Danny says on the dish soap, only I put mine in a food dehydrator set on the lowest setting for 2 days, and there done.

Dan likes to do his seeds like a fine wine, I do mine the opposite,lol

11/7/2008 6:48:21 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

SeedZ....you guyZ get seedZ? ...

11/7/2008 8:18:59 AM

Reed Point Montana

why do you have to wash them? as long as you spread them out thin on a tray and let them dry at room temp for a few weeks and stir them around every few days for the first week you wont have any trouble with mold

11/7/2008 5:45:21 PM

Reed Point Montana

why do you need fans and dehydrators too they got all winter to dry lol

11/7/2008 5:48:11 PM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

I do because handling them and the slime... I'd rather have 'clean' seeds... bad enough pawing around for all of them in the punkinguts.

11/7/2008 9:29:45 PM

Granite Bay Ca

Thanks guys for all your input. Really appreciate it.
Thanks again
Dick 72

11/7/2008 9:53:32 PM

Reed Point Montana

once the seeds are dry all the slime flakes off with the outter layer of the seed, wasing each and every seed can be quite an undertaking

11/8/2008 2:13:30 PM

milford, CT,

After washing well I do a light bleach rinse to kill any spores or mold. Then thoroughly wash again and dry. Nothing worse than those black spots on the seeds after a few weeks.

11/8/2008 8:40:08 PM

Dallas, Oregon

When you think they are dry, let them dry for another week.

11/8/2008 9:11:41 PM