What's your favorite way to clean messy seeds?

Some seeds make no mess when collecting the seeds. They come in a nice dried seed pod or other way that leaves little to do once you collect them.

And then there are the others , everything from slimy, gooey, jelly, smelly and beyond!

My general method that I'm using right now consists of washing them under water a few times and using a towel to remove the ickiness, and  then laying them out to dry.

What is your favorite way? Do you wash them, ferment them, shake them in water, give the job to someone else, or another way? What is your prefffered method to clean messy seeds?

Wash in a fine-mesh strainer, massaging the seeds with my fingers until as much loose goop as possible is gone. Then transfer to a bowl and soak for 30 minutes with a tiny bit of Oxyclean. Then rinse in the strainer again. Spread on a plate or tray to dry.

The Oxyclean breaks down gels much like fermenting would, but it's faster and less smelly. It also has the added bonus of sanitizing the outside of the seed, so if you have problems with plant diseases this stops them from transferring.

I should mention, I'm usually working with large quantities, so this may not always be practical. With very small quantities, smearing them on a paper towel and letting them dry works fine. Rip the paper towel up and plant it with the seeds still stuck.

I ferment mine.  My only messy ones are cantaloupe and tomatoes and in a kid sized glass you can ferment hundreds of tomatoes and dozens of squash.  Put it in a closet and let 'er rip for 4 days, wash and pour off the floaters and junk, strain, dry and store.

Ellendra Nauriel wrote:Wash in a fine-mesh strainer, massaging the seeds with my fingers until as much loose goop as possible is gone.

I'm gonna give that a try, haven't used a strainer yet with cleaning seeds.