Not all gardeners buy new colorful bags for each season, because they know how to collect cucumber seeds at home. This process is not particularly difficult, but has its own nuances.

No matter how you like the variety, you need to pay attention to whether it is a hybrid, which is indicated by the letters F1 or F2. Even when it is possible to find seeds in such fruits, cucumbers will not tie, and if they grow, they will lose their qualities. Excellent yield, resistance to diseases are preserved in hybrids for only one season.

Which fruit to choose?

Breeders develop crop varieties by crossing best plants. Sustainable characteristics are not obtained in one year. This kind of work takes a lot of time. It is necessary to collect cucumber seeds from fruits where 4 chambers are present, since female flowers are formed in them, on which the ovary is formed. In a season, from the seeds collected with your own hands, an appetizing harvest will ripen.

In order to prepare them, on the strongest bush it is necessary not to pick the largest fruits. You can mark these cucumbers with a ribbon, put something under the base, otherwise, if they hit the ground, they will rot if it rains. So that the fruits do not interfere with the emergence of a new ovary, cucumbers should be left on the seeds not at the beginning of the season, but at the end.

Hybrids are usually planted under the film, which self-pollinate. Varietal plants in a closed greenhouse can be grown if bees fly into it, otherwise the fruits will not set.

When to collect seeds?

In order to preserve the qualitative characteristics of the variety, the next year many fruits ripened on the bushes, pleasing with bright colors. in green, delicate taste, seed cucumbers are left on the lashes until frost. Grains must survive not only the summer heat, but also the autumn temperature fluctuations. After natural stratification, the next year, sprouts will sprout together, a lot of ovaries will form, on which cucumbers will tie.

Enzymes are present in these green fruits, thanks to which animal fats are absorbed faster. They have vitamins, and iron, and magnesium, and phosphorus, and calcium. Fiber normalizes bowel function. Alkali salts neutralize acids, prevent the conversion of carbohydrates into fats.

Seeds are selected under a combination of three conditions:

• the fruit becomes brown;
• the cucumber becomes soft;

From such grains you can get a crop for the next year. They will keep properties for several seasons.

How to harvest cucumber seeds?

In order for each grain to sprout in spring, you need to know how to prepare them, and pay special attention to this process. Whether the quality characteristics of the variety will be preserved depends on how the cucumber seeds were collected.

Finding a fruit with a square section:

1. Cut it into 2 equal halves.
2. The grains are removed from the front.
3. After cleaning the chamber, the seeds, along with the pulp, are placed in a glass of plastic or glass, filling it by a third.
4. If there is not enough liquid, add water.
5. The container is covered with gauze and sent to a warm place where fermentation should take place. Fermentation lasts from 24 hours to 3 days.

When the cucumber begins to rot, bacteria start to grow. To make them die, such a fruit is treated with a solution of copper sulfate.

After the grains are cleared of pulp and shell, they are poured with water. Seeds that will sprout will be at the bottom of the container, empty ones will float to the surface. The grains are subjected to such manipulation several times, after which they are washed again and transferred to the material. To dry them better, you can put a cloth on the battery or place it near another heating device.

Seeds are packed in cloth bags or stored in paper bags at a low temperature in the dark for several years. In the first season, many male flowers form on the bushes grown from these grains, there will be few fruits.

If you don’t want to wait until the seeds stand, they need to be heated for a couple of hours in the oven at 50 degrees. Cucumber seeds give the best inputs in the fourth year, they can be sown in the sixth, but not all will come out of the ground.

It must be taken into account that if, after fermentation, the shells of the collected seeds have not separated and they are dried, the sprouts will not sprout.

How to get seedlings?

In the southern regions, crop seeds are sent immediately to open ground. Summer residents do not grow cucumbers in the fields, but in small plots. In order for the root to take root better, 1–2 grains are placed in each glass and pot of peat. Before disembarkation:

1. A bag of seeds is kept on a battery or in the sun for 14 days.
2. To improve germination, the grains are heated for two hours in a thermos.
3. Put in a solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes.
4. Rinse with running water.

After soaking on the third day, sprouts hatch. Seeds are placed on the surface of the earth, covered with soil with a layer of 15 ml. The soil is lightly sprayed, but not watered. In this way, prepare seedlings in each pot.

Containers with seed grains are installed in boxes, which are moved to the window, or sent to the greenhouse, closing plastic wrap. At 25 degrees Celsius, the first sprouts will not have to wait more than 3 days. When they appear, the air temperature must be reduced so that the cucumbers do not begin to stretch. In cloudy weather, turn on fluorescent lamp so that the plant is not dark. daylight for seedlings, it is necessary to organize at least 10 hours a day.

3 weeks after sowing, 2 leaves appear, and cucumbers can be sent to the garden. Then the roots will not get sick and take root well. Before this, the land is fertilized with rotted manure and disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate and Fitosporin.

Seedlings develop at a temperature of 16 degrees, growth stops when it gets colder, so it needs to be moved to the ground when the air warms up well. In the early days, it is advisable to cover the bushes with pine or spruce branches from the sun's rays. If you collect cucumber seeds correctly and take care of the plants, they will reward you with juicy and green fruits. Harvesting begins one and a half months after planting in the garden.

Cucumber is the most common member of the gourd family in our household plots. Its juicy and crunchy flesh is refreshing in the summer heat, and canned and salted fruits diversify the winter table.

For more than six thousand years, this vine has ceased to be only a wild plant with small and often very bitter fruits. From the foothills of the Himalayas and the tropical forests of India, it has spread to all countries and continents. This vegetable was popular in ancient Egypt, was valued by the inhabitants of the Roman Empire, and in the 1st millennium AD began its victorious march through the countries of Europe. In Russia, the first mention of cucumber dates back to the beginning of the 16th century.

Nowadays, the number of varieties of this common and beloved culture is simply impossible to enumerate. However, experienced gardeners, having tried many options, often stop at only a few especially liked varieties. It is quite natural that in this case you want to have your own seeds for planting. This guarantees that in the next season, delicious cucumbers will receive exactly those taste and other characteristics that are especially loved.

How to grow seeds?

If you decide to grow greens from your own seeds next summer, you should pay attention to a few subtleties in obtaining them yourself.

• Before choosing a seed variety, make sure it is not a hybrid variety. Such cucumbers are usually more resistant to diseases and vagaries of the weather, bear fruit more abundantly, but are completely unsuitable for further reproduction, since they practically do not retain all their wonderful properties in the next season.
• To obtain high-quality seed material, plants of the variety you like should be isolated from other varieties in order to avoid cross-pollination. If this is not possible, then artificial pollination should be resorted to, then covering the fruits with gauze.
• On one plant, choose no more than two seed plants and be prepared for the fact that you will not get a bountiful harvest from this plant, since all the forces will be spent on seed maturation. That is why it is better to determine the greens for seeds at a time close to the end of fruiting.
• To obtain seeds, it is better to choose fruits that do not start on the main branch, but on the first side shoots. Such seed material favorably differs in high productivity and more early dates fruiting.
• Leaving cucumbers for seeds, choose "female" specimens. In cross section, they have a quadrangular shape and the corresponding number of sectors, while the "male" fruits are distinguished by a triangle in the section and three sectors. It is from the "female" seeds that plants with a large number of ovaries are formed, while the "male" ones give a lot of barren flowers.
• Cucumbers selected for seeds are marked with a bright band or otherwise and left on the plant until fully ripe. To prevent their decay, it is recommended to tie the whip to the support so that the ripening fruit does not touch the ground. For the same purpose, you can lay it on a board or piece of plywood.
• The finished testis becomes soft and acquires a dark yellow or brown color. To harden the seeds, you can leave it in the garden until the first frost. Thus, your seed material will undergo stratification, which will allow it to be successfully used already in the next season and, undoubtedly, will have a positive effect on the quality of the crop.
• Ripened testicles are torn off when the whips are completely dry. Most often, they need to ripen on a sunny veranda or windowsill for two to three weeks.
• As a rule, from 2 to 5 g of seeds can be obtained from one ripened cucumber. Considering that 25-30 plants are usually obtained from 1 g, then a pair of seed plants is quite enough to provide the whole family with crispy cucumbers.

Proper seed preparation

Growing mature testicles without loss is only half the battle. The main difficulty lies in the correct collection and processing of seed material. In order to preserve ripened grains without loss, it is necessary to carry out several stages of their preliminary preparation.

• For future sowing, only those seeds that are located in the front half of the fruit are selected. The closer the seed is to the far end of the cucumber, the higher the likelihood that a bush with bitter greens will grow out of it.
• To extract the seeds, the mature testis is cut lengthwise. The grains, together with the possessed chamber, are laid out in a small container and slightly diluted with water.
• The "gruel" is left for 2-3 days in a warm place, covering the dishes with a film, so that the fermentation process begins. This procedure allows you to clean the seeds from the amniotic membrane.
• Make sure that the seeds do not ferment, as in this case their germination will be significantly reduced. The first sign of excessive fermentation is the darkening of the tip of the grains.
• The fermented mass is poured with a large amount of water and mixed, and then allowed to settle. At this point, pulp and low-quality seeds float to the surface. They are drained together with water, and the mature seeds that have settled to the bottom are well dried.
• The drying process is very important for the future safety and quality of planting material. During this process, it is very important to follow temperature regime. Drying at high temperatures (30 to 40°C) requires active ventilation to prevent overheating of the seeds. Cooler air combined with higher humidity can lead to mold growth or premature germination.
• To dry, spread the seeds in a thin layer on a sheet of cardboard, thick paper or plywood and often mix thoroughly. In good weather, it is recommended to dry the grains in the open air under the rays of the sun, and clean them in a warm and dry place at night.
• It is strongly not recommended to use additional heat sources for drying. They will not be able to provide gentle temperatures and the necessary uniformity of heating.
• Ready seeds have the color of baked milk and rustle pleasantly when mixed.

What do you need to store seeds?

Experienced gardeners know that you can use your own seeds to get a full-fledged harvest no earlier than in a couple of years.

• Even the best seeds of the first year of storage give plants with a small number of female flowers, which means that you should not expect abundant fruiting from them.
• The largest yield can be grown from seeds of the second and third years, but high-quality seed is able to maintain excellent germination for up to 6 years if it is stored at a stable temperature in the range from +15 to +25 ° C.
• For storage, grains are best placed in a paper or canvas bag; it is also convenient to use small cardboard boxes. The main requirement for the container is good ventilation. In addition to choosing a suitable container, it can be ensured if the seeds are not packed too tightly. They should be freely distributed throughout the volume.
• Place for storage of seed material should be chosen dry and well ventilated.
• Do not forget to mark the date of collection and the name of the variety on the envelope or box. This data in the future will help not to make mistakes when landing.

If you learn how to properly collect cucumber seeds at home, then you will no longer have to buy them in the store. In addition, you will definitely be sure that a variety known to you will grow from the planted seeds, which means that there is no doubt about the quality of vegetables. The method has several features, so for a successful result, they must be observed. The collected seed is able to retain its properties for many years, so it can be harvested with a margin.

Almost any cucumber variety is suitable for collecting seeds, but only with the exception of hybrids. The latter is bred by crossing several species, but what crop it will give in the future is unknown. The vegetable is not able to reproduce the previous characteristics, therefore, when planting grains of hybrids, ugly and tasteless vegetables often grow. When choosing a seed cucumber, consider this fact. Do not pick fruits from the greenhouse, as hybrids are most often grown in greenhouses.

A suitable time for collecting testes comes at the end of summer - in August. When the cucumbers are still ripe on the branches, take a few fruits. Choose "girls": these are greens with 4 seed chambers, they immediately differ from others in a convex shape. "Boys" have only 3 protruding faces, and the grains collected from them are mostly empty flowers. In order not to confuse which cucumbers will go to seeds, mark them. You can tie a colored rope on the stem or stick a stick. Make sure that the weight of the fruit does not touch the ground, otherwise it will quickly rot. Put a cardboard box, a board on the ground, then the vegetable will ripen normally.

It is possible to understand whether the testis is ready or not by several signs. If you saw them, then pick the fruit without hesitation:

• the cucumber has reached the specified size and fully corresponds to the description of the variety;
• the fruit turns yellow;
• the skin becomes brownish and soft;
• the stem dries up.

If you haven’t noticed any of the things listed on the fruits yet, don’t rush to pick and wait a bit, perhaps the fruit will soon reach full maturity. If the weather is sunny, no rain is expected, then the testis ripens in a couple of weeks or less. In the case when frosts have come to the region, precipitation is expected, it is better to pick greens in dry weather. They will ripen normally at home: just put them in a warm place, and in a couple of weeks the fruits will be ready for collecting seeds. It is not permissible to get moisture on the skin: this leads to the formation of rot and mold, and it is impossible to collect grains from such vegetables.

Attention!

When ripening cucumbers at home, do not forget to turn them over so that the skin “does not lie down”, so the seeds will ripen evenly.

Seed Collection Procedure

When you are convinced that the fruit is fully ripe, you can start collecting seeds. Before starting the process, prepare everything you need: a clean knife, a tablespoon, a deep metal bowl, a piece of gauze.

To make collecting grains easy, use the step-by-step instructions:

• cut the fruit in half lengthwise to make 2 halves. Scoop out the entrails with a tablespoon and place in a deep bowl. If the cucumber is already stale, then some of its parts begin to rot. In this case, cut them with a knife to a healthy place, but be sure to treat the remaining vegetable with potassium permanganate, peroxide or any other disinfectant;
• in a cup where the pulp with seeds, add warm water, about one liter. Stir the contents with a spoon. Cover the top of the cup with a layer of gauze to prevent dirt from getting into the water, and leave the contents for 24-48 hours in a warm place. During this time, the pulp will ferment, and the seeds will settle to the bottom. During fermentation, an unpleasant aroma is felt, and bubbles appear on the surface of the water;
• for 1-2 days, remove the gauze, pour more water into the contents of the cup, then drain through a fine colander or strainer. Rinse the remaining grains from the pulp until it remains;
• washed seeds must be separated from empty ones. To do this, pour water into a cup, put grains in it, stir and wait 20-30 minutes. Those seeds that have surfaced are considered empty, so feel free to discard them, they are not suitable for further harvesting. If the seeds settle to the bottom, then they will bring a crop. Drain them in a colander and rinse again under running water.

The remaining full grains now need to be dried well. If you neglect the procedure and store slightly damp grains, then they will not lie for a long time: mold forms on the shell, which causes the seeds to rot and lose their germination. Take paper or a clean, dry cloth, lay it out in several even layers on the table, and pour the grains on top, level them. The room where the seed material is dried should not be humid. The grains will dry out fastest if the room is warm (temperature 22-24 degrees) and light. Periodically turn the seeds over, then they will dry out evenly. It usually takes 10-14 days for them to dry properly.

Attention!

Do not dry grains specially on batteries, electric dryers and near other heating devices. This reduces their germination.

Storage Features

If you collected seeds from correctly selected cucumbers and did everything according to the instructions, then there is no doubt about their quality. Sowing capacity is maintained up to 6-7 years. Collect the dried grains and pour into a clean paper envelope, be sure to sign it to know which variety is stored there. The room where the seeds are stored should not be cold or damp. With a humidity of more than 60% and a temperature below 10 degrees, the seeds quickly become damp, they are not suitable for sowing. Do not store seed near radiators, on stuffy mezzanines. If the seeds lie all winter at room temperature, then their germination will remain only for a year.

Seedlings can be grown from harvested cucumber seeds for a year. Immediately after collection, it is not worth using them for planting: the shoot will be low. Before sowing them in the ground, treat the seeds first in a disinfectant solution (soda or saline solutions, potassium permanganate). For good germination, agronomists recommend sprouting grains. Put them on a napkin soaked in a growth stimulator, then put them in a dark place and germinate for 4-7 days.

Harvesting cucumber seeds is easy, just try once, and you will no longer buy expensive bags in the store. Do not forget to carry out their subsequent preparation before sowing, and a rich harvest of crispy tasty greens will be provided to you.

Nothing can measure the pleasure you get from a product that you have grown with your own hands, moreover, from the seeds of your favorite variety. Of course, you can not bother to independently extract the planting material and just buy the variety you like according to the description in the garden store. But the meaning of self-collection and harvesting of cucumber seeds is that when you grew this variety on your suburban area, you actually tested and checked its quality and yield, they completely satisfied you, which means that it makes sense to deal with this particular seed sample. You will learn how to properly collect and harvest cucumber seeds on your own below.

What cucumbers to leave for seeds: selection rules

The most important thing when choosing the fruits of cucumbers, from which we will take seeds, is random don't take hybrid variety . Because hybrids of any crop are completely unsuitable for seed propagation, since they are already obtained by crossing several varieties, and therefore, if you sow such a plant, you will most likely get something completely different (in the sense of "dissimilar") to the desired vegetable. So leaving to seed makes sense only varieties of cucumbers and not hybrids.

Interesting! The inscription F1 on the seed package indicates that you have a first generation hybrid. That is given plant was obtained by crossing two different varieties. Filli (F) from Italian - "children", 1 - "first generation". Sometimes there are also F2.

Some gardeners claim that cucumber seeds should be taken from female cucumbers, which have four-chamber seminal septa.

Males have three seminal chambers.

Thus, it is possible to determine that a cucumber is a “girl” by its appearance(cutting is not necessary at all), the fetus should have, as it were, 4 faces, respectively, the “boy” has 3.

However! All this (that female fruits give a richer crop of cucumbers, and already in the first year, and male fruits only for 2-3 years and much less plentiful) very similar to some kind of "myth". Because cucumbers always appear only from female flowers, male flowers are empty flowers, which means that there can be no male fruits.

Advice! It costs you nothing to check this recommendation on your own experience, perhaps there is some sense in this.

You need to leave the largest fruits growing on the most powerful bushes for seeds. Do not forget to mark the selected cucumbers so that someone does not accidentally pick them, for example, you can tie a colored ribbon-rope at its base. It is also recommended to put a plank under the fruit you have selected (if it lies on the ground) so that it does not rot during the rains.

Video: from which cucumbers to collect seeds

How to determine that the selected cucumber is ready for seed collection

First you need to accurately determine that the cucumber is ready, and you already need to take it and extract the seeds. You can do this by following the signs:

Seed harvesting technology

Step-by-step instruction collection and harvesting of cucumber seeds:

Note! Many gardeners recommend not just rinsing the seeds under water, but using the fermentation method. In other words, the seed material must be placed in a jar or some other container and left for 2-3 days in a warm place (some advise adding a little more water). After the time has elapsed, fill the container with water and shake well. In addition to the fact that thanks to this procedure, the shell that restrains their germination will separate from the seedlings, we will also be able to separate the pacifiers that will float to the surface. Then the planting material, which ended up at the bottom, must be additionally rinsed under running water and only then put to dry.

Video: how to collect cucumber seeds - rules for collecting and harvesting

How to store cucumber seeds

When the seed material is completely dry, it can be stored for storage, after removing it from the paper or newspaper on which it was dried.

It is best to store cucumber seeds in paper bags (envelopes), on which you must write the name of the variety and the date of collection. Or you can use zip bags.

The storage place must be chosen dry and at room temperature, that is, about + 18-22 degrees.

Important! Freshly harvested cucumber seeds are usually not sown the next year because they are likely to produce too many empty flowers. It is optimal to take 2-4-year-old seedlings for planting, which is why do not forget to label your seed bags.

The maximum shelf life of cucumber seedlings is 5-6 years.

Time after time you have more and more positive and satisfaction from the variety of cucumbers tested for quality and productivity. Now you can grow it from the seed material that you get yourself. We hope that our tips and recommendations will help you prepare your planting material, and in a couple of years (remember, it is not recommended to sow next year) you will be able to grow a crop of cucumbers from your own seeds.

Video: harvesting your cucumber seeds

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Seeds from homemade cucumbers are the most reliable and easiest way to provide yourself with a harvest for future seasons. This method is not only cheap (more precisely, free), but also sensible: you choose the best specimens, from the best liana, which is guaranteed to bear fruit in your climate zone. But what lies in the purchased bag of seeds is still in question.

Harvesting cucumber seeds is no different from harvesting tomato seeds, but you still need to pay attention to a few points. So let's talk about how to collect cucumber seeds at home.

What cucumbers to leave for seeds?

Hybrids (F1) are not taken for seeds, but only varieties. Hybrids do not have the ability to reproduce parental characteristics in subsequent generations, therefore, "mongrels outbred" will grow from hybrid seeds. Also be careful with greenhouse cucumbers. As it is right, modern varieties adapted for growing in greenhouse conditions are either seedless or self-pollinating hybrids. Thus, for greenhouse cucumbers, seed collection can be carried out only if your balcony or greenhouse is guaranteed to be visited by pollinating insects.

Our ancestors also knew how to prepare cucumber seeds: you need to choose not a three-sided, but a four-sided fruit, that is, with four seed chambers. In addition, the seeds must be taken from the front third of the fruit - where the flower was. There is no scientific confirmation of this hypothesis, however, gardeners claim that plants from such seeds grow together, productively and plentifully.

Cucumber for seeds should not be large, but not excessive for a particular variety, and even. The intended cucumber should be kept on the vine until the very beginning of frost, so that it undergoes natural stratification not only in summer heat, but also in cold weather. If the cucumber lies on the ground, place a plank so that it does not rot, and mark it with a string.

Don't rush to shoot cucumber for seeds- it should be not only yellow or brown (brown), but also soft, and the tail should be dry. However, if the weather is humid, it is better to remove the fruit and let it ripen for one to two weeks at home.

How to harvest cucumber seeds?

But keep in mind that you should not plant these seeds next year, because there will be a lot of barren flowers on the cucumber, that is, male flowers. Cucumber seeds, like other pumpkin seeds, must be aged for 2-4 years in order for female flowers to form on them. If you are very impatient, you can calcinate them in an oven or drying chamber for 2 hours at a temperature of about 50 degrees right before planting the seeds, although it is less safe to keep the seeds in a warm place for one or two months (on a battery, suspended from the ceiling, etc.) Cucumber seeds remain viable for up to 6 years.