Saving Pumpkin Seeds

These are baking pumpkin seeds drying on hardware cloth. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Saving Pumpkin ‘Seeds

If you toss pumpkins after Halloween, think again. With very little effort, you can harvest seeds and have not only something to share at Christmas but a source for growing more pumpkins next year. And you know what you are getting, not wondering if the seeds have been treated with anything.

There are a number of cute drying racks on the market, i have a small one myself that was a gift and I use it to dry herbs for my homemade teas. The good news is that we all have things around our house, and apiary, that we can repurpose without having to buy anything.

For example, I have screened inner covers i use in my bee hives in summer to help give the hive ventilation. Those are pulled off in the fall so I repurpose them as seed drying racks.

This beehive screened inner cover does double duty as a drying rack. (photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

In this photo I have a paper towel-lined cardboard box on the bottom with Jack O Lantern pumpkin seeds topped by a screened inner cover with baking pumpkin seeds drying.

You can also use old window screens or anything that has a screen that allows air to circulate.

Paper towels and newspapers work well to absorb moisture. Remember to label. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

How to Save Pumpkin Seeds

Remove the pumpkin seeds. You can wash them but I don’t, I remove as much of the pulp as i can and then spread the seeds on paper towels or newspaper. The pulp is mainly moisture so it quickly dries up.

Remember to label the seeds if you have two or more varieties, I use a marker on the corner of the paper towel or newspaper.

These are pumpkin seeds from a white pumpkin drying on newspaper. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

These are seeds from a white pumpkin freshly harvested and drying on a sheet of newspaper in a cardboard box. I’m going to guess in our current cold weather it could take these seeds a couple of weeks to dry.

The critical part of the process is to make sure air can get to them.

If you have a warmer spot where they can sit that can also help speed up the drying process.

Save paper envelopes to repurpose for storing dried seeds,. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once dried, I save them in repurposed envelopes. Paper is better than plastic to discourage moisture. And once again, remember to label the envelopes.

The paper envelopes also fit nicely in my little seed saving plastic tote.

Cardboard boxes also make good seed drying containers. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

This is how a tower of drying seeds looks like. Not pretty but very practical and effective and most of the items are repurposed.

Can you leave your pumpkins outside for awhile before you harvest? You can if your weather is not going to go below freezing for any length of time. And remember that wildlife such as squirrels are not going to wait for you to help yourself first to the pumpkin seeds.

Squirrels made holes in pumpkins to remove the seeds. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once dry, you can then share seeds with family and friends. I sent baking pumpkin seeds to friends in my 2020 Christmas cards, the directions said only 120 days to pumpkin pie!

Charlotte