What is involved in preparing seeds for vegetable gardens?

Hey, im very new to gardening, am just wondering what is involved in preparing seeds for the garden. For example, if i take out pumpkin seeds/tomato seeds straight from the vegetable, what do i need to do before i plant them in order for them to germinate? Any help, much appreciated

Most vegetable seeds need to be cleaned of the vegetable particles that stick to them...makes for less chance of rot between seasons. Beans are an exception...they just need to be shelled out of their husks when they are dry and rattle. Let them air dry for a couple of weeks anyway before storing.

With pumpkins, I clean off as much of the pumpkin as possible by hand, them wash in a colander to try and clean the rest off..(you wont get it all) Spread on a flat surface out of direct sunlight to dry. They need to dry for a couple of weeks before storing or they will mold. Keeping seeds dry between harvesting and planting is important. some folks store theirs in the refrigerator, and that's fine. I just store mine in a good closet in bins.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and similar seeds will be best if you ferment the seeds before cleaning. These seeds tend to have a lot of 'gunk' adhering to them. Just scoop your seeds into a container....(I like one that is taller rather than wider) You need to have a couple of inches of seeds and material in the container. Add a touch of water if you must...but try not to. I just squeeze another tomato in.
Set this container up for 4 or 5 days in an out of the way place...it will probably attract fruit flies...be prepared. After this amount of time, it will have a mat of mold on top. Fill the container with water and start pouring off the gunk. Pour into a sieve to catch your seeds.Keep adding water and getting rid of the mold. Your good, viable seeds will sink to the bottom of the container. Pour them off on a flat surface, such as a plate and let them dry for a couple of weeks.

Fermentation sounds alot harder than it actually is...it cleans your seeds, it gets rid of a germination inhibiting substance.(so the seeds won't sprout inside the fruit) and it also cleans the seeds of some soil born disease spores. All commercial tomatoes, cukes and the like are fermented.

Make sure that your vegetable is at the correct stage fore seed harvest. Pumpkins and most hard squashes do best if you wait a month after picking before you harvest the seeds. For some reason, you get better germination on the seeds. Cukes need to big overgrown gourd-like things. They will not resemble what you eat at all. Tomatoes just need to be ripe..not over-ripe. Peppers need to be ripe and have their full final color...they still need to be glossy and firm..over-ripe peppers tend to have fewer viable seeds. Eggplants need to be over-ripe and have lost their gloss.

Make sure that the seeds you are harvesting are from Open Pollinated plants. These plants will reproduce offspring exactly like the parent. Seeds of Hybrid plants will not grow true to their parents and you will not get what you are expecting.

Squashes cross-pollinate easily, as do peppers...saving seeds from an Open Pollinated variety will not be a guarantee of getting an identical harvest if you have more than one type growing. Bees will cross the pollen, and you will have a new set of genetic material waiting in your seeds. Things can be done to prevent crossing, and if you are interested, I can explain further.

I hope this info helps....please ask questions if there is anything that you don't understand, or if there is something that I failed to touch on...