Crook-Neck Squash

I have a process, for the sake of getting it all into one shot I made my counter a little messier. I'm sharing because a few people have mentioned that it seems like a lot of work - or they don't know how I do it all.

Harvesting four large crooked neck squash from my garden, I cut up two before the photo, left side you can see the two remaining squash.
The pile of skins is for my rabbits.
The pile of seeds in the middle of the board I dried, packaged in a marked brown paper bag for next years garden.
The one squash that had aged a little two much I cut the large seeded centers out, putting them in the scrap bucket for the chickens.

So you see four crook neck squash for dinner turn into - dinner for us, dinner (extra nibbles) for the rabbits, treats for the chickens and putting some aside for next years garden.
I love eating my garden, love enjoying a fresh side for dinner. I also love that with very little prep, there is NO WASTE.
Nothing from this batch heads to the compost and not one thing ends up in the garbage bin.

Even better saving a few of the best seeds, saves me the cost of seeds from a store while guaranteeing what year they were harvested and that they came from fresh, chemical free, healthy plants.

Why save the cost of seeds when they are only a few dollars a package?
Our garden this year alone:
10 packets of lettuce seeds.
3 carrots seeds packages.
2 radish seed packages.
3 squash seed packages
2 zucchini seed packages
5 corn seed packages
3 kale seed packages
1 spinach seed packet
3 pepper plants
4 raspberry plants
4 blackberry plants
8 tomato plants
1 basil plant
1 rosemary plant
& a large huge package of cucumber seeds

What I planted from previously saved seeds were my pumpkins. I also have dill seed & extra cucumber seeds. Last fall I planted half of my saved garlic bulbs as well a 1 new type.

We tried to plant sunflower seeds that I'd saved up from last year but my daughter got distracted when planting them and put the bowl on the ground - lets just say my chickens LOVE my daughter.
  
This year I'm saving the zucchini & squash seeds, pepper seeds from two different plants and tons of carrot seeds.
Each year saving a little more each time to cut next years budget down enough where I can afford to buy NEW veggies to add in - like potatoes! We want to try them again next spring!

So far in all the years I've saved up seeds and replanted from them they've grown great! What took me a few extra seconds in a meal prep can end up making a real difference.