How to collect and harvest cucumber seeds yourself

Nothing can measure the pleasure obtained from a product that has been grown with his own hands, moreover, from the seeds of a favorite variety. Of course, you can not bother with self-extraction of planting material and just buy the variety you like according to the description in a garden store. But the point of self-collecting and harvesting cucumber seeds is that when you grew this variety in your summer cottage, you actually tried and checked its quality and yield, they completely suited you, and it means that it makes sense to deal with this particular seed sample.

You will learn how to properly collect and harvest cucumber seeds yourself below.

What cucumbers to leave for seeds: selection rules

The most important thing when choosing fruits of cucumbers from which we will take seeds is by accident do not take a hybrid variety... Because hybrids of any crops are completely unsuitable for seed propagation, since they have already been 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 "unlike") to the desired vegetable. So leaving for seeds makes sense only varieties of cucumbers, not hybrids.

Interesting! Inscription F1 on the seed package indicates that this is a first generation hybrid. That is, this plant was obtained by crossing two different varieties. Filli (F) from Italian - "children", 1 - "first generation". There are also F2.

Some gardeners argue that cucumber seeds should be taken from female cucumbers, which have four-chambered seed septa.

The males have three seed chambers.

Thus, it is possible to determine that a cucumber is a "girl" by its appearance (it is not necessary to cut it at all), the fruit should have, as it were, 4 faces, respectively, the "boy" - 3.

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

Advice! It doesn't cost you anything to check this recommendation on your own experience, perhaps it makes some sense.

You need to leave the most large fruits growing on the most powerful bushes... Do not forget to mark the selected cucumbers so that someone does not accidentally pick them, for example, you can tie a colored ribbon-string at its base.

Also recommended put a plate 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 if a selected cucumber is ready for harvesting seed

First, you need to determine exactly that the cucumber is ready, and you already need to take it and extract the seeds. This can be done according to the following criteria:

• The cucumber turned yellow, acquiring a brownish tint, and reached an impressive size.
• The tail (stalk) is completely dry... This means that the fruit has completely absorbed all kinds of nutrients necessary for the seeds to ripen. If the tail is still green, then you need to wait, the process is not over yet.

Seed harvesting technology

Step-by-step instructions for collecting and harvesting cucumber seeds:

1. When the seed cucumber is completely ripe and turns yellow, its stalk dries up, and it softens, then it can be plucked.
2. Next, you need to cut it in half, and then cut off the back (about 2-3 centimeters), where there was a dry tip, that is, this is, as a rule, a bitter place. If you sow the planting material in this part of the cucumber, then the fruits will grow out of it tasteless - bitter.
3. Using a spoon, remove the seeds from the seed chamber along with the pulp into a strainer.
4. Next, rinse them under running water to get rid of the pulp and mucus from the seedlings themselves.
5. Now you can lay them out to dry, for example, on paper or newspaper, and preferably an oilcloth, from which it will be easier to separate them (they will not stick). The place for drying should be dry and warm, optimally put on a kitchen cabinet and leave for 3-7 days.

   

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, 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. Alternatively, you can use zip bags.

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

Important! Freshly harvested cucumber seeds are usually not sown next year because they are likely to yield too much barren flowers... It is optimal to take seedlings of 2-4 years old for planting, which is why do not forget to label your bags with seed material.

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

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

Video: harvesting your own cucumber seeds