Good question! There is a Seed Saving Forum on the Gardenweb. I looked in the FAQ over there but couldn't find anything specific about summer squash. If you look toward the bottom of the article below, it tells you how to save the seeds from summer squash.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Saving

If you are going to plant them near each other then not only will you have to hand pollinate (see the FAQ's here for a how-to) but you will have to bag the female blooms. Even when planted 1/4 mile apart they readily cross. Since the yellow's are readily available I'd seriously consider growing only the Black Eel.

Size: bigger the better. I usually wait till they are well past normal harvest size.

Dave

Thanks so much, I didn't notice there is a seed saving forum. Considering prices of food, if I have the room, I will grow it. I know around here it's .99 a lb for yellow, but that's .99 more that I could have for gas or something else. I'll have to HP and bag a few flowers than. Since it's a heirloom and I can save the seed, I'd prefer to do that than have to buy the seed again.

Thanks
Melissa

I had a few squash that got tough and I throw them into my garden and tilled them under. Got lots of squash the next year. They were summer squash the first plantings but that next year they looks like large banana squash when they came up on their own. I didn't like the taste, but my children sure torn them up. So I don't know what to tell you except try those paper bags over your flowers after you hand pollinate.

The seeds will need time to mature. As summer squash gets older, the skins harden somewhat similar to winter squash. I would wait until the skins are quite hard, and the squash may even start to change color a little, particularly on the bottoms.

Really, you don't need to be in any rush to harvest the seeds. Just leave the squash you want for seeds on the vine until fall and pick them at first frost. In the meantime, just keep an eye on them and if they should start to spoil, then pick them and clean the seeds out. The seeds won't go bad sitting inside the squash on the vine for the summer.

Beeone is right. When summer squash are mature, the skin is hard. You shouldn't pick a squash, which you're saving for seed, until a couple weeks after you can't puncture the skin with your fingernail.

I produce my own seed. One single zucchini will give you a LOT MORE than ten year's supply of seed! It's great to be able to share with others. As mentioned above, you do need to hand pollinate, which isn't too difficult. I need to look up that FAQ (figure out where to find it). But I did do a hand pollination guide in 2006. It was here in this forum for quite a while. If anyone would like a copy of the basic guide (minus most of the following posts), I can e-mail it. I have it in MS WORD format.

George
Tahlequah, OK