How best to save cucumber seeds?

[Primrose]

I've just returned from holiday to find several cucumbers which are too big to eat and wonder how best to save their seed. The Telegraph variety are enormous but I believe they may be F1 so not suitable for saving unfortunately if I want some reasonable plants next year?

I tried to save some seeds from what I thought were mature "Mini" variety before going on holiday, but on returning I find the seeds seem to be completely flat with no "inner" bulk, so perhaps they are not viable. I'm unsure how to tell whether I'm taking mature seeds. Can anybody point me in the right direction please and whether there's any special trick to drying them?

[Nature's Babe]

Like you I save from mature veg and I spread cucurbit seeds on a sheet of kitchen paper letting them dry naturally, then keep dry overwinter ready for planting in spring, they all seem to germinate fine. As you rightly say, f1's wont come true from seed.

[alan refail]

Hi Primrose and welcome back

Telegraph are not F1.

To save cucumber seeds you must let the fruit continue to swell until it turns pale yellow/white - i.e. totally inedible!
To be saved successfully cucumber seeds, unlike other cucurbitae, must be fermented to remove the "jelly" (can't remember the technical term at the moment) which if allowed to dry on can be a germination inhibitor.

Instructions here (bottom of page)

http://www.realseeds.co.uk/cucumbers.html

[I supply the variety Tamra - see middle of page]

More info here (bottom of page again)

http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedsavinginfo.html

[edited to add:

I hope you didn't remove all the male flowers or the cucumbers won't have been pollinated]

[Nature's Babe]

Hi Alan, maybe the kitchen paper absorbs the gel, especially if they are between two sheets, all mine germinated, cucumbers, melons and squash.
Though if you are doing it for others probably best to stick to recommended
way

[Johnboy]

Seeds are tougher than people give them credit for and I find that with seeds that are covered in a gel are easily processed by placing them in a sieve and with a trickle of water playing onto the seeds (over the kitchen sink) you can scour the seeds by rubbing them with your fingers against the sides of the sieve and allowing to drip dry before turning the seeds onto kitchen paper as NB suggests. The seeds come to no harm with this rather rough treatment.
Alan, I would suggest that the fermentation method is more for the commercial world when masses of seeds are required. This method can be very smelly and not very pleasant to handle. I remember in training having a whole bucketful of Rosa Rugosa seeds fermented and spent most of the day heaving every few minutes processing them! That bucketful produced something like 10,000 seeds. A quantity of seeds a home gardeners would not want.
JB.

[Nature's Babe]

As Johnboy says seeds are tougher than you think, there are a couple of turks turban squash, that were discarded in my compost bucket, thrown into a big compost bay that gets quite hot in the summer, were spread on the soil with the compost, survived 3 feet of snow and heavy frosts in last years harsh winter, then sprouted in competition with a bed of potatoes and romped over several other veg beds about 30 - 40ft happily producing a great crop of squash - no nurturing, no watering, no feeding, tlc or fermenting and cleaning! They are flourishing and out performing other squash that I bought and were treated the " proper way ", lol.

[alan refail]

As Johnboy says seeds are tougher than you think, there are a couple of turks turban squash, that were discarded in my compost bucket, thrown into a big compost bay that gets quite hot in the summer, were spread on the soil with the compost, survived 3 feet of snow and heavy frosts in last years harsh winter, then sprouted in competition with a bed of potatoes and romped over several other veg beds about 30 - 40ft happily producing a great crop of squash - no nurturing, no watering, no feeding, tlc or fermenting and cleaning! They are flourishing and out performing other squash that I bought and were treated the " proper way ", lol.

The original post was entitled "How best to save cucumber seeds?"
I always have a few lost seeds germinating in the tunnel border, a bit later than I would sow, but still grow on if left. But I would hardly be sensible if I relied on them as my only plants!

What I offered in my reply was "best practice" - If the gel is removed, the seeds are easier to handle to decide which are viable and which are empty, and easier to dry and store. It is not at all difficult to ferment a very small number. However, I would agree with Johnboy that washing under running water has the same benefits.