Prepare watermelon seeds to plant

Question

I am eating a massive 30 lb YELLOW flesh watermelon I bought at our farmer's market (Rolla, Missouri), and I'd love to save all the seeds to replant next year.

What do you do to clean, prepare, and preserve watermelon seeds this year for use next year?

Answer 1

Make sure you dry them and put them in a ziploc bag after. Some people even freeze them to help them remain fresh but I've never done that and all the seeds I plant that came from the previous year sprouted.

Answer 2

Unless that melon was grown for seed (i.e well isolated) you will not get the same melon next year. most water melons are hybrids to begin with and that means the seeds will not produce plants that are like the parent. Even if the melon is an heirloom variety, if the grower did not isolate the flowers so they are not cross pollinated the seeds will produce true to type melons next year.

if you don't care about that and want to plant mystery melons than remove the seeds from the flesh, wash them in clean water (put the seeds in a strainer and run water over them until all the melon comes off), that dry them on a cloth or coffee filter (paper towels stick to seeds and are a PIA to get off the seeds). Dry for 2 to 5 days out of direct sunlight than store in an airtight container like a glass jar in a cool dry dark place

Answer 3

I live in Bulgaria where watermelons grow in massive fields, all the locals do is take out the seeds and dry them in the sun, store in a cool dark place wraped in paper and plant the following year. I`ve found that they do this with almost all the seeds and they are allways successfull, it`s worth a try.