The female flower is then protected in some way from contamination by other foreign pollen. Methods vary for individual plants. It is good to leave the seed body on the plant longer than if you were going to eat it, especially for those plants which are eaten immature. For wet plants harvest as you would to eat, then leave inside for a while for the seeds to finish maturing. For seeds that dry on the plant, try to harvest on a dry day and if bad weather or frost looms, pull the entire plant and bring it inside to ripen.
Methods vary for individual plants.
Wet cleaning Seeds that come within a wet body should be washed in water until all flesh is removed, then placed in a warm place on a plate or paper strip to dry naturally. Some plants such as tomatoes need to be fermented first, to remove a coating that inhibits germination. To do this, put the mashed fruit in a jar, leave no longer than 4 days in a warm place until a crust forms then wash and dry as normal. This involves gently crushing the seed cases to break them free of the seed, put larger seeds in a pillow case and tread on it, smaller seeds can be crushed between two bits of board. Don t apply too much pressure or you ll damage the seeds.