How to independently prepare tomato seeds and save them until a new sowing for seedlings

Despite the fact that now you can find almost any seeds in garden stores, there are still quite a lot of people who want to engage in self-collection of seed material. It just so happened, and there is a great practical sense in this, that real tomato fans harvest only their own planting material. Especially if youI really liked a certain variety - an appetizing appearance and excellent taste, it is not so difficult to propagate it. In your hands it will be easy to correctly collect and prepare seeds from your tomatoes, which will be discussed in our article.

What tomatoes are suitable for harvesting seeds

What are the basic rules for choosing tomatoes for the subsequent production of seeds from them?

At first, you can collect tomato seeds only with varieties, not with hybrids. Therefore, if you bought wonderful tomatoes on the market, and they turned out to be simply wonderful in taste, it is not a fact that you will get exactly the same ones in your summer cottage, because it is quite possible that it was a hybrid. Hybrids on packs are always marked with a marker - F1... Accordingly, if you bought and sowed hybrid tomatoes, then collecting seeds from them does not make much sense, since they are obtained by crossing several varieties. In short, this means that in the end you will end up with something "smeared", because the second generation is already strongly split in hereditary traits, and the fruits are completely different from their parents. That is why, logically, seeds can only be harvested from varietal tomatoes.

Secondly, to get quality seeds it is important that you have at least in the garden (or better in the garden, but for obvious reasons this is actually unrealistic) only one variety of tomatoes grew (there was the so-called spatial isolation). If you grow several varieties in your garden at the same time, then cross-pollination will definitely occur, which means that you will get your own hybrid.

Thirdly, for seeds you should definitely take only the healthiest tomato fruitsgrowing on strong and strong busheshaving pronounced varietal characteristics described on the package (size, shape, color)... You do not need to choose the largest fruit of an atypical shape and color, since, most likely, this is some kind of exception to the rule. Or perhaps a randomly formed hybrid. Ideally, if you pick a tomato that is on the lower brushes, it is best from the second or third brush (in the open field - it is better with 2, in the greenhouse - with 3), because setting and pollination on them occurs first of all, and therefore, the likelihood of hybridity is minimized.

By the way! According to some amateur gardeners, it is better to choose female tomato fruits for collecting seeds. How to do this - to distinguish men from women, is described and shown in the video below.

Video: the best planting material is female tomato fruits

Fourth, a tomato, from which the seeds will be harvested, should be ripebut not overripe... In an overripe, albeit perfect specimen, the seeds may already begin to germinate and lose germination, which we do not need at all.

Advice! If for some reason (unfavorable weather - there is a possibility of early frosts), you cannot leave the tomato to ripen on a branch, then it is better to pick it, and let it get to the condition at home.

How to collect tomato seeds: ways

Once you've picked the perfect tomato, it's time to start making your seeds from it.

Step-by-step instructions for collecting and harvesting tomato seeds at home (classic way):

1. Wash the selected ideal fruits thoroughly and place in a clean dish.
2. Take a sharp knife and cut the tomato in half.
3. Using a spoon, gently scrape the seed core into a plastic container or jar.
4. Now take a bottle of water and fill the container with seed, then mix thoroughly.
5. All that have surfaced are bad (empty), they need to be thrown out. And those that remained at the bottom - leave, they are best suited for harvesting.
6. Drain most of the water along with the bad seeds, and strain the rest through a strainer.
7. Lay out the seeds on a napkin (toilet paper or newspaper)... Although, according to gardeners' reviews, it is quite difficult to separate the seed material from the paper, therefore it is still better to spread on a cloth napkin or towelse. As experience shows, in addition, you can use and polyethylene... And some gardeners do not hesitate to dry on plastic plates.
8. All that remains is to dry the seeds by placing them in a warm place (where the temperature is + 28-30 degrees), for example, on a kitchen cabinet for 2-5 days, where you need to periodically sort and mix them.
9. When they are completely dry, they can be stored until the next spring sowing.

By the way! There is a way to harvest tomato seeds fermentation method... Its advantage is that the germination of such seeds in the second and subsequent years (up to 5-6 years) is higher, but in the first year it is the same. This is due to the fact that during the fermentation process, the transparent shell in which the seeds are enclosed is destroyed. Another plus is that a kind of natural disinfection process takes place, because the film (mold) is the best natural antibiotic. Therefore, it is believed that this method, so to speak, is more physiological for tomatoes.

The fundamental difference fermentation method in the fact that at the 4th stage, after you get the pulp with seeds, you do not need to fill them with water. The container should be covered with cling film, in which there should be a couple of holes (or a leaky lid), and left for 1-2 days at a temperature of + 22-25 degrees. It is possible to determine that the fermentation process is over by the appearance of bubbles and a film on the surface. Now the seed material must be separated from the pulp, that is, thoroughly rinsed under running water, dumping it into a strainer. Further, the procurement technology is completely the same.

Video: how to collect and prepare tomato seeds in two ways

How to properly store tomato seeds

In general, it is best to store tomato seeds in paper bags or envelopes. In no case in cellophane, because they can deteriorate in them, especially if you do not dry them out. By the way, you can put the planting material in the bag right on the napkins. Again, don't forget to sign the variety and date of collection. As for a specific storage location, it is best if it is a dry room with a stable temperature, for example, a cool pantry is perfect.

Note! On our website you can read detailed materials about how to prepare and process tomato seeds before sowing, and sow them correctly for seedlings.

As usual, the unconditional goal of every amateur summer resident is to independently collect the ideal tomato seeds. Such work will undoubtedly increase its effectiveness if you can choose the right tomatoes, and then properly obtain seeds from them. It is also very important not to overshoot with the normal storage of the seed.

Video: how to properly harvest seeds - harvesting tomato seeds