Parental control
Most vegetable plants have both male and female flower parts, so can self-pollinate. Plants in the cucumber family, such as squash, melon, pumpkin and, of course, cucumber, have separate male and female flowers on the same plant, which increases the chances of a female flower getting pollinated by a male from a nearby plant of another variety.
Prevent cross-pollination by hand-pollinating a female flower; she’ll have a miniature cucumber, melon or squash fruit at her base. Dab a paint brush on a male flower to pick up pollen and then dab the pollen-laden brush on the female flower parts. Or pluck a male flower, pull off its petals, and rub its head into a female flower.
Further limit cross-pollination by enclosing the pollinated blossoms in a bag or, if petals are large enough, taping them closed.
Seeds of the cucumber family are mature only in the fully ripe fruit, so let cucumbers or summer squash grown for seed thoroughly ripen on the plant before slicing them open to collect seed. Melons, pumpkins and winter squashes are fully ripe when ready to eat, so just scoop out the seeds, then rinse and dry them.
To best preserve any of your harvested seeds, store them thoroughly dried in sealed bags in a cool location. This season’s crop of seeds might spur you to try saving other kinds of vegetable, even flower, seeds next season. You’ll save money, be assured of having seeds of the vegetable varieties you want to grow, and have some fun doing so.