Q.What To Do With Melon Seeds After They Are Dry, Then Put In The Freezer For 2 Days, And Then Into The Refrigerator.
In your article about melon seed harvesting and storing, you explain that they must be dried carefully, then put into the freezer for 2 days and then into the refrigerator. How long should they stay in the refrigerator? Is it not sufficient to keep the dry seeds in a jar in a cool dark place until they are to be planted the following year. I have a small refrigerator and keeping the seeds there would be inconvenient. Kindly respond to this. Thank you ~ Dana VANDERHEYDEN Rhinebeck, NY

Certified GKH Gardening Expert
As long as these are not watermelon seeds, which will die when exposed to cooler temperatures, then this will be the process and place of storage. The refrigerator will be the proper place to store them to retain viability, but as long as you use them within a year or two, most of them will still remain viable stored in a drawer. The longer they remain in the improper storage the quicker they will die and become unable to germinate.