October has arrived, and it's starting to feel a bit autumnal. The early morning air has a cool crispness to it, and the swallows have left the farm for their journey south. On the wider farm it's squash season, which means there are boxes and boxes of beautiful, colourful squash filling the barn. We have been processing the seeds of our own squash harvest, and celebrating autumn with the first bowls of squash soup.

If you've been growing cucurbits this year, including cucumbers, courgettes, melons and squash, now is a good time to do some seed saving for next year. For cucurbits, it's important to know that varieties within the same species will cross pollinate if they are within 1/2 a mile of each other. For example, if you've grown more than one squash variety in the same area, such as 'Red Kuri' and 'Black Futsu', they will most likely have crossed and the saved seed will not remain true-to-type. Different species of cucurbits, such as courgettes and squash, will not cross with each other.

This year, we have grown 'Delicata Zeppelin' winter squash, 'Shintokiwa' cucumbers, and 'Cocozelle' courgettes. None of these species will cross with each other, but as there are other varieties on the wider farm that would, we isolate each of these in their own separate tunnels. We process them all in similar ways: leave them to cure, cut them open, scoop out the seeds, then ferment them to remove the pulp before drying them.

How to save cucumber seed:

1. Leave the cucumber to fully mature and cure so that the seeds develop properly.
2. Cut the cucumber open, slicing down each side and pulling apart.
3. Use an ice-cream scoop to remove the seeds.
4. Add these to a jar and leave to ferment for 2-3 days.
5. Good seed will sink, bad seed will float.
6. Add water, then pour off the discard, repeat until only good seed remains and the water is clear.
7. Place the clean seeds in a single layer on a tray or plate to dry for 2 weeks.

This process is much the same for all types of cucurbits, but you do not need to ferment squash seeds. The fermentation just helps to remove the pulp from the seed.

Cross-pollination - is there a risk of toxicity?

Some people are concerned about the potential for cross pollination, because there is a risk of toxicity if your crop crosses with another unwanted variety. This is only a concern where there are wild or ornamental cucurbits present. In the UK, we do not have wild cucurbits, and if you suspect there may be ornamental ones, such as Gourds, you need only taste a small bit of your crop for bitterness as this will indicate toxicity.

Next season, if you'd like to ensure you get true-to-type seed, you will need to isolate your varieties and hand pollinate them. If you'd like to learn, have a look at this video that shows how to hand pollinate squash:

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Aside from plenty of seed processing, we have also been busy flipping over the polytunnel beds, lifting out structures and clearing finished crops ready to plant our winter crops. The chicory we planted about a month ago is flourishing now, and we have just planted out 'Perfektion' fennel and 'Fiolaro' broccoli, and transplanted 'Calcot' onions into the tunnel to grow on for their second season.

In the propagation tunnel, we have greens soon to be planted, such as our Spinach flock, Corn salad, 'Beni Houshi' and 'Kizuna' Asian greens, and hardy flowers such as Briza Maxima, 'Thai Silk Apricot Chiffon' California poppies and 'Fata Morgana' scabious.

If you're wondering what you might sow now to plant out before the winter, here's what you can sow in October:

I hope you are enjoying the gentle transition into autumn, and perhaps finding more time now to get out into the garden, to continue enjoying your harvests, and to start dreaming up plans for next season.

I've been noticing how many of the plants in my own garden are growing better now than they were in peak summer, with thanks to the rain and still-warm sun that we have at this time of year, which reminds me that it's certainly not the end yet!

Take care,

Izzy and the Vital Seeds team