By fertilome
Whether you are carving a pumpkin or making homemade pumpkin pie, scoop and save the seeds to use later. There are several things you can do with those seeds but we are going to focus on saving pumpkin seeds for planting. If you grew that perfect heirloom pumpkin or found the best one for carving you should consider saving the seeds to grow that variety next season.
Here is how to do it:
1. Cut your pumpkin open from the top, and scoop all the seeds into a colander.
2. Run the colander under cold water and separate the seeds from the pulp.
3. Rinse the seeds as you go and place them on a paper towel-lined cookie sheet in a single layer.
4. Let them dry for 1 week, turning them periodically so that they dry on both sides.
5. Place the seeds in a labeled envelope.
6. Store in a cool dry place until time to plant.
Tips: Pick the biggest seeds to save; also save at least 3 times more than you plan on planting.
Saving Pumpkin seeds is an activity that the whole family can participate in. The best part is, after the seeds have been cleaned and the good ones set aside to save, the left over seeds can be roasted!