What is a good method for extracting the earliest-viable seeds from young pumpkins?

Question

I am in need of a good strategy to extract the earliest-possible batch of seeds from an upcoming batch of white pumpkins (I may have a few available within a month).

My main uncertainty is at what size a pumpkin needs to be before extracting seeds of any sort.

Beyond that, my plan is to do the following:

1. Extract seeds from pumpkin
2. Dry seeds for 1 day (2 of it is humid)
3. Place seeds in freezer for 2 to 3 days
4. Thaw seeds, begin germination process in a 85f, enclosed, lit greenhouse container

Is there anything noteworthy that I can do to encourage my pumpkins to provide viable seeds sooner than later?

Answer 1

Q. Is there anything noteworthy that I can do to encourage my pumpkins to provide viable seeds sooner than later?

A. Having read this, "Pumpkin Seeds - Buying, Selection and Saving" and then talking with my local feed mill owner (I've just got off the phone with him), he grows over 30 types of squashes and gourds each year, we both believe you would be wasting your time trying to harvest pumpkin seeds to earlier (before the pumpkins are mature). Though we also both agree that, "nothing ventured, nothing gained".

The following doesn't answer your question (at least directly), but I am putting in a direct link to it anyway, as I believe it's useful information:

Saving Pumpkin Seeds*

*I contacted by phone the owner of the above linked to website to seek their permission to re-produce their content here, "Bob Matthews" kindly declined my request (hence only the above link). Contact details for Bob Matthews.

Answer 2

In "Seed to Seed" (Suzanne Ashworth), p116:

Winter squash or pumpkins used for seed saving must be grown until fully mature.

...

Squash [or pumpkins] have a greater number of viable seeds when cut from the vine and left to sit for three weeks or longer.

For your contest, I think you will need to focus on getting your 1st generation plants to produce a higher yield. (Possibly by encouraging the plant to set more, smaller fruit, but I don't know how you'd do that.) Or through rooting cuttings like you ask in your other question.