How to Save Pumpkin Seeds for Planting
Fall is undeniably the most delightful season of them all – pumpkin spiced lattes, cozy sweaters and boots, and crisp autumn air. Another bonus perks of this beloved season? Pumpkins! Everywhere you turn there’s another pumpkin to be scooped up for weekend carving projects or just for decoration.
But those pumpkins serve a higher purpose than just decorations: their seeds can be saved and replanted for fresh-grown pumpkins next fall! A few simple tricks will help make sure you preserve maximum seed viability for healthy sprouts next year.
With a few simple steps, you can save your pumpkin seeds for planting and fill your garden with homegrown pumpkins.
Here's how to do it.
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Can You Save Pumpkin Seeds and Grow Pumpkins Next Year?
The quick answer to this question is yes. If you decide to grow pumpkins next season and want to save seeds for the following season, you’re in luck! Below is a brief list outlining some quick tips to follow when saving pumpkin seeds:
Clean seeds with water
Pick the best-looking seeds
Dry out the seeds
Store the seeds properly
Below is a YouTube video outlining some methods used to properly prepare and store pumpkin seeds for planting the following year.
Can You Plant Pumpkin Seeds Straight From the Pumpkin?
While you can use pumpkin seeds from the previous season to grow the current season’s pumpkin crop, there is some seed preparation that needs to be done before they can be planted—it all starts with the seed harvest.
Harvesting the Seeds
The first step—and perhaps the most simple step—is harvesting your seeds from whichever pumpkin (or pumpkins) you want to replicate. When harvesting seeds, the easiest method is generally cutting off the top (just as you would to carve a jack-o-lantern) and scooping the seeds out with your hand, a trowel, spoon, or some other scoop.
You can start collecting your pumpkin seeds at any point once the pumpkin has matured.
Pumpkins are generally ready to harvest in the fall, although in some growing zones, they can be started earlier in the year, meaning they may be ready before fall comes. A pumpkin that can easily be plucked from the vine is ready for harvest, although not all mature pumpkins will fall off the vine on their own.
When the size and color are suitable for your needs, feel free to cut from the vine to harvest the seeds.
Cleaning the Seeds
Once you have your seeds harvested, you’ll notice they’re covered in pulp—often referred to as ‘pumpkin guts’ informally. You can get this pulp off by placing your seeds in a colander and rinsing them in water.
It is important that the seeds do not sit in water for any period of time, so a colander is a great way to get the water on and back off quickly while cleaning effectively.
Choosing the Right Seeds
The next step is choosing the right seeds to set aside for the following season. In general, the larger seeds have a higher rate of germination success. For this reason, it is a good idea to pick out the largest seeds in your batch.
When setting seeds aside, you will want to keep three seeds for every plant you intend to grow.
Odds are, not all of your seeds will germinate; by planting extra, you are increasing your chances of having the right number of plants the following year. If you’re lucky and all of your seeds germinate, just donate the extras to a willing friend.
Drying the Seeds
After you’ve picked out your favorite seeds, it is time to dry them off—not to be confused with drying them out. To dry the seeds off, simply place them on a paper towel or piece of cardboard. You're not allowing them to fully dry, simply letting excess moisture to be removed from the surface.
Allow them to sit out for about a day, turning them every so often to ensure proper drying. It is important to make sure the seeds do not touch while drying, as they are likely to stick together.
Storing the Seeds
Once your seeds have properly dried off, it is time to store them for future use. It is a good idea to store them in something that will protect them, but also something that is not airtight. Most gardeners will use either a paper bag or an envelope for storing their pumpkin seeds.
While these stored seeds will generally be ok when stored indoors at room temperature, many growers will keep them in their refrigerator until they are ready to use them.
Do You Have to Dry Pumpkin Seeds Before Planting?
The drying stage of saving your pumpkin seeds for future use may seem like an unnecessary step, but it is actually very important. If you try to save uncleaned or damp seeds, they are likely to mold before you are ready to use them, especially if you place them in a bag and leave them at room temperature.
Drying the seeds before storing them assures that they won’t go bad before use, and it helps to prevent early germination.
Saving Pumpkin Seeds - Cross-Pollination Issues
While saving pumpkin seeds is a fairly simple task, there are some indirect difficulties that you may run into.
Pumpkin plants cross-pollinate, meaning that the pollen used to fertilize the flowers that later turn into pumpkins may come from another plant in the same family group.
Just as with animals, the DNA of the pumpkin offspring is a combination of the DNA from both of the parent plants. This means that if a female flower on a pumpkin plant is fertilized by a male flower of a different variety of pumpkin, the seeds saved from the resulting pumpkin wouldn’t be true to the parent pumpkin from which they came.
Cross-pollination is not generally done on purpose, but pollinators are good at their job. Pollinators such as bees and butterflies can quickly cross-pollinate when there are members of the same plant group in the nearby vicinity.
The only true way to ensure your pumpkin flowers are not pollinated by a different plant is by not planting anything else of the same family within a half mile of your choice pumpkin variety. You may also try to beat the pollinators at their own game by pollinating the flowers manually—this can be done with your finger or a cotton swab.
Even if you are ok with any kind of pumpkin the following year—maybe you’ll come up with a new breed!—there are members of the same plant family with which they can cross-pollinate. Some of the most common are cucumbers, squash, and melons—so you may not end up with a pumpkin at all if you’re not careful!
How to Tell if Pumpkin Seeds Are Viable
Before you take up precious space in your garden, it is a good idea to test the viability of the seeds you are planting. Thankfully, this can generally be determined before it is time to plant the seeds. There are two primary methods that gardeners use to test if their seeds are viable, outlined below.
The Water Test
One classic way to check a seed’s viability is to place it in a bowl of water for approximately 15 minutes and check to see if it sinks to the bottom or floats to the top—I know I said not to allow your seeds to sit in the water, but you can make an exception here. Just don’t forget about them!
Any seeds that float to the top are not as likely to be viable, this is likely due to a lack of nutrients within the shell; the seeds that sink have a higher likelihood of viability.
Although this test is not 100% accurate, it is a quick way to weed out some potentially bad seeds before you waste your time planting them.
The Germination Test
A more dependable viability test is the germination test. Seeds do not have to germinate in the ground, they can germinate and begin sprouting before you’ve even taken them out of your house.
One of the easiest ways to encourage germination is to place seeds within a damp paper towel and place that folded paper towel into a sealed plastic bag; the bag should be placed in a room temperature-to-warm location.
The average amount of time it takes for pumpkin seeds to germinate is 10 days, but give them up to two weeks before giving up. Any seeds that germinate (being to sprout) should be viable seeds ready to be transplanted into the ground.
How to Store Pumpkin Seeds
The most important aspects of storing pumpkin seeds are location, housing, and proper preparation. The location you choose to keep your seeds should be cool and dry; some popular options are the back of a refrigerator or a garage (or wherever you store canned goods).
The next thing to consider is the container in which you are storing your seeds. Paper products that can be closed are a great choice as they are not airtight but allow the proper protection and airflow for cooling—paper bags and envelopes are common options.
Finally, your preparations prior to storing are a crucial aspect of storing your pumpkin seeds properly. If the seeds were not cleaned and dried, you are likely to have problems with their viability later down the road.
How Long Can Pumpkin Seeds Be Stored Before Planting?
When you prepare your pumpkin seeds correctly and store them in a proper location, they should be viable for three to five years—some have even had luck after this time frame.
If you plan to grow the same type of pumpkins year after year or if you have a prized pumpkin that you want to grow seeds from several years in a row, you can save enough seeds to last you for many years—although you might choose to save new seeds after each season.
When to Plant Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkins are a classic fall crop—if you want these plump orange fruits adorning your garden in this time frame, be sure to plant them outside anytime between mid- to late-May and early- to mid-July.
If you would prefer to have your pumpkins ready before fall, they are a good crop to start indoors and transfer outdoors once the temperatures are favorable.
By starting your seeds inside, you can have pumpkins throughout the summer. This is also a method used for those attempting to grow the largest pumpkin, more time in the ground equals more opportunity to grow.
How to Save Pumpkin Seeds for Roasting
Roasted pumpkin seeds are a classic fall treat that many enjoy only once a year after carving their Jack-o-lanterns. However, if you want to have the option to make this snack further down the line, there are a few tricks to extend their shelf life.
When prepared using the same method previously discussed for storing pumpkin seeds, the seeds will be good for up to a week for roasting and eating purposes. If you are looking for ways to keep your seeds even longer, read on!
Another way to save your pumpkin seeds for roasting is by fully drying them out before storing them. The best method for getting your seeds 100% dried out before they go bad is by placing them in a dehydrator for several hours. Seeds that have been completely dried out can be stored for as long as three months before they need to be roasted.
If three months isn’t long enough for you, there is still hope! To have access to pumpkin seed snacks year-round, you can freeze them for up to one year. When you are ready to roast your favorite snack, simply allow them to thaw and cook as you normally would.
Final Thoughts
Growing pumpkins can be one of the most rewarding activities in the fall—aside from picking out the best Halloween costume, of course—and saving the seeds ensures that the tradition lives on.
Saving pumpkin seeds can also be important for those striving for the largest pumpkin, as the most desirable pumpkins can have their seeds saved—assuming unfavorable cross-pollination didn’t occur. Some may even purposely cross-pollinate to attempt to create new breeds of pumpkins.
Whether you are saving your pumpkin seeds for competition, breeding, or simply for fun, proper storage techniques are important to ensure desired outcomes.
By preparing and storing your pumpkin seeds properly, you will have access to the seeds you worked so hard to obtain for years to come.
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