Perhaps of more value to gardeners everywhere than half a dozen fresh ripe cucumbers might be, at least in the long run’ is one yellowed, softening, and nearly rotted specimen. The reason is that these extremely mature cukes can become not a meal, but the source of perhaps a hundred healthy cucumber vines for years to come. This is because they will be the origin of the cucumber seeds a local – Northern New Jersey – gardener is going to show everyone how to collect and save.
Note the cucumber in the main picture. Far, far past having any food value this cuke is ready to be harvested for seeds. It is soft, and in some places actually squishy. This is fine for our purposes, because it means that the seeds are sufficiently well developed to be extremely viable once prepared.
A bonus is that the cucumber may be pulled apart easily with the fingers, and does not need to be cut into with a knife, a process which can damage seeds.
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