brooklyn1 wrote:
On Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:01:04 -0700, "Paul M. Cook"
wrote:

There must be some trick to preparing seeds for storage. I wanted to
preserve some seeds from my Red Hmong cucumbers so I let one get
really ripe on the vine to the point it was starting to decompose a
little. Then I extracted the seeds, washed thoroughly and cleaned
up as much of the slippery pulp as I could. Then I set them on a
tea towel to dry. They dried up into little shriveled bits that
bore almost no resemblance to a seed at all. They sure do not look
like they will be viable. Is there something I am missing here?

I don't suggest saving seed from home grown vegetables
except as a for-fun experiment. Years ago I've done it but only in a
very few instances and by pure luck did my saved seed replicate. One
thing I learned is not to use saved seed except in a totally separate
garden.


This says nothing about the benefits of seed saving and everything about
your own inadequacy. It is quite possible to save your own seeds and with a
little skill and knowledge to get excellent results.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/a...bles/seed.html

Re this article:

1) Nobody in their right mind suggests you save seed from hybrids. The
books on the subject and posters to this NG have said repeatedly not to.

2 & 3) Unless you plant several cultivars which are capable of hybridisation
_and_ they are flowering at the same time there is no need to worry about
cross pollination. It is an issue to be considered but it is by no means a
show-stopper.

Please stop generalising your own failures of understanding and lack of
skills. Just because you failed years ago doesn't mean it can't be done.

For those lurking who may think I am being harsh this is far from the first
time brooklyn has been quite misleading.

David