How to save courgette seeds

[Absolute Chaos]

I've grown some rather nice (non-hybrid!) courgettes and now I want to save the seed. A friend's mother suggested that you allow a couple of the good plants to produce large marrows, let them dry and then scoop the seeds out. I imagined I would find something like a butternut squash cavity but instead, I just have a giant courgette with hard to distinguish seeds all the way through.

Am I on the right track or should I have got the seeds from the flowers? Anyone done this?

[bluemoon]

The flowers won't have seeds, only the fruits. Unfortunately courgettes are members of the cucurbit family, which have to be one of the most promiscuous on the planet. It means that if anyone in the vicinity is growing courgettes, pumpkins, squash, melons, cucumbers..... the list is endless, then there's more than a good chance that they'll have cross-pollinated with yours and you'll have something completely different to the original plant next year. Sometimes you might be lucky and end up with something new and delicious, but usually it's something disgusting.

[Absolute Chaos]

We grew squashes close by and different courgettes. I'd still like to try though - do you just pick the seeds out? They look small?

[zazen999]

Yup, you have to
a - seal the flowers to prevent any insects getting in before you pollenate by hand
b - pollenate by hand
c - seal the flower to prevent any insects getting in after you have pollenated
d - leave the fruit to grow until it is mature

You'll know the seeds as they will be big and chunky; any that are small and thin are usually useless.

[Absolute Chaos]

Aw - no way! We've done it wrong. No flowers left to try with.

But... just to be 100% clear - the seeds are still in the courgette, not the flower? (Sorry if this is a bit thick!) And you just slice it up to get them out?

[rustylady]

Yes Chaos, the seeds are always in the courgette(or marrow), and you have to leave it till it really can't get any bigger. Some time to go yet. The fruit needs to be really ripe(skin hard and dry, and probably around two feet long)

[zazen999]

To be honest, I'd not start with courgettes as they become marrows and have to be left for ages....it has to be done as early in the season as possible to give it enough time to ripen and because you do it to the early fruits, often they don't produce many more afterwards.....so sow enough plants for 1 or 2 to be left for seeds only [or more - the more plants the more vigorous you keep your seed variety]...and then others for you to eat.

This is why eating cucumbers have see through seeds and not big hard seeds in the middle....as they are immature fruits being harvested early for eating.

[Absolute Chaos]

Thanks everyone!