How to get seeds from a tomato. How to collect tomato seeds and store them

It is quite possible to get high-quality tomato seeds even at home. Choice of the most productive varieties, which have taken root perfectly in a certain climate, is possible precisely in the process of self-selection. Observing not sophisticated technology preparation, processing and storage, it is possible to obtain a sufficient number of seeds annually.

Selection of fruits

You can collect seed from almost any variety, but not from. The latter are obtained by crossing two various kinds plants, by selection it is possible to select the most successful first generation. However, the second generation will not have the same properties.

On a note!

It will not be possible to obtain seeds from F1 type hybrids; varieties with similar names can also be found on sale, this should not be misleading.

It is recommended to use varieties typical for this region or species that have shown good yields for several years in a row. Uncharacteristic for climate zone the species may not bear fruit the next year.

Selection should begin with the selection of plants. These should be:

• strong and healthy bushes;
• timely pinched and processed;
• from best performance productivity.

Tomatoes should be taken of medium size and regular shape. It is necessary to be guided by the description of a grade. It is better to take seeds from a fruit that has a typical color and size, the correct structure and an appropriate ripening period. Thus, a "pure variety" can be obtained. You should choose from tomatoes ripened on the lower brushes. The upper ones are more often pollinated by bees, taking on some properties of hybrids.

It is very important to collect tomatoes for seeds in time. They should not be fully ripe, brown, but not green. Overshoot should not be allowed. If the fruit has become too soft while still on the branch, its seeds may germinate during storage or even die. The fruits should ripen in warmth and moderate light.

Processing technologies

Getting ready-made seed is not difficult. To collect seeds you will need:

• selected tomatoes;
• glass container with a lid;
• gauze;
• some water;
• some salt;
• cotton scarf.

Without fermentation

The tomato should be cut in half, take out the soft juicy part, place the seeds with juice in a glass container. Pour everything with water, cover with a lid and shake. Rinse under running water room temperature. Then spread on a cotton towel, leave to dry completely, put away for storage.

On a note!

Do not lay out the prepared material for planting in the sun or near heating appliances for better drying, this can literally "kill" the seeds or stimulate their germination.

With fermentation

Seed fermentation is simple: after separating all the liquid from the tomato, you need to place it in glass containers and cover with gauze without adding water or rinsing. During the day, the juice will first become cloudy, then brighten, covered with light foam. Fermentation ends with the lowering of the cleaned seeds to the bottom of the tank. Rinse the resulting mass several times until absolutely clean water, dry the seeds in the manner described earlier.

If there is a lot of seed and there are doubts about its quality, you can additionally separate ripened specimens from empty and green ones. Dilute a teaspoon in a glass of water regular salt, place. Carefully add all seeds. Sink to the bottom, put away for storage and later use for planting, dispose of the rest.

Fast way

This option is acceptable when there is no time left for full preparation. It is necessary to extract the juice from the fruits with seeds, rub the resulting mass gently over a paper towel or dense cloth. Leave to dry for one week. After carefully separate only the seeds and put them in storage. Germination may turn out to be a little worse, since this method does not allow for full processing, however, the results will largely depend on the choice of fruits.

Additional processing

Before planting, the material obtained independently must be processed, especially if the seeds were obtained not in the previous season, but much earlier. First of all, it is necessary to re-calibrate in saline solution in order to re-separate excessively dried and non-viable. After that, carry out hardening: sowing material is placed in moistened gauze, everything on a saucer is sent to the refrigerator for one day. Thus, resistance to possible frosts is formed.

On a note!

You can harden both immediately after drying and before planting.

It is possible to exclude infection of the entire crop with common viral and fungal infections by pre-treatment. Gives excellent effect pharmaceutical products such as Immunicitophyte and Zircon. An affordable alternative is concentrated aloe juice, in which the seeds are also placed for one day. Correct sequence actions before landing is as follows:

• hardening
• awakening;
• oxygen saturation;
• disinfection.

Oxygenation will improve the quality of the old seed. Place the seeds in a bag of gauze and warm water, connect to the container air filter from the aquarium, set to minimum power. Leave it running for one day. The process is also referred to as bubbling. It is not difficult to awaken the seed: lower all the available material into cool melt water, leave it at room temperature at 18 o'clock. After all manipulations, drying is not required.

Storage rules

For storage, choose a dry, dark, slightly cool and well-ventilated place. It can be a pantry in a house or apartment, a box under the bed, dry cool winter storage. If it is not possible, therefore, to place the seeds, you can simply place them in cardboard boxes in ordinary cabinets. Do not place the container in the kitchen or in a poorly ventilated cellar.

One of the simplest and right methods storage - placement in separate envelopes made of thick paper, for example, parchment or an ordinary confectionery, but in several layers. Dried seeds must be freely placed on a plane, then rolled up the envelope and stored in a dry place.

One of the reliable ways is to store it in a special silica gel. The granules can be left in bags and simply spread out in each of the containers. Thus, seeds can be placed even in glass jars but with sealed lid.

Common Mistakes

One of the main mistakes is choosing an atypical bush. If a variety suddenly gave a high shoot, with a yield several times greater than the declared one, most likely this is a combination of circumstances and climatic factors, in the future such a result is unlikely.

In the processing process, the blanks do not use aluminum or iron utensils, it is better to choose clay, enamel or ordinary glass. Ready seeds do not store for more than four years, even if they have been carefully processed.

Long winter evenings Passionate tomato lovers sort through bags of seeds dear to their hearts, make lists again and again, draw planting patterns ... And finally, the choice is made! The lucky ones are sown, grown on the windowsill and planted in the ground in due time. All summer we water, feed, shape, protect them from diseases. Then comes the time when our labor literally begins to bear fruit. The battle for the harvest turns into a battle with the harvest.

Every housewife has a huge number of great recipes for preserving what she has grown. Some varieties were successful, some were not, some pleased with their taste, others with yield, these are good for salads, and these are for preparations. And if you already have pets that you would like to grow from year to year, I will tell you how to prepare the seeds of the variety you like.

Of course, you can buy tomato seeds in the store, but you can’t buy collection varieties in specialized departments, and, unfortunately, in Lately regrading is not uncommon, but every seat, especially in a greenhouse, is worth its weight in gold. It can be very frustrating to spend several months and not get what you want.

It's good when, thanks to resorting, you get a good copy. These unpleasant moments can be avoided if you know the rules for self-collecting seeds.

Tomato seed labeling

In July and August, when the mass ripening of tomatoes begins, household members, visiting greenhouses and garden beds, strive to pick the most beautiful, most delicious tomato. In order not to be left without seeds of the variety you like, at the time of the full filling of the fruit, select an instance that corresponds to the varietal description, with the most pronounced features of this variety.

Type, structure of the bush, shape - everything must match. To collect seeds, choose the fruit from the first or second brush.

It is believed that in this case the possibility of cross-pollination is minimal. Be sure to mark the selected tomato. It can be a bright rope or ribbon (just don't overtighten it). You can also write the name of the variety or the word "seeds" on the tomato itself with a marker or felt-tip pen. The main thing is to make it clear that this instance cannot be torn off.

The ripest tomato

If the weather permits or your specific climatic conditions allow, leave the seed tomato to ripen well on the bush, let it become very soft. If the nights are cold, tying and pouring on the upper brushes is slow, or the fruits on the first two brushes are large and the plant spends all its strength on coloring them, pick the largest tomatoes and put them on a sunny window. It will be better if they start to turn white or turn brown.

Treat the collection of seeds with all responsibility. And when working with several varieties at once, be especially careful and careful to avoid confusion. And one more important advice: cut the tomatoes not along, but across. So all the seed chambers will be clearly visible.

It is important to remember that seeds cannot be taken from tomatoes grown from double flowers. Also, you can not collect seeds from hybrids.

Tomato seeds - in jars

So, our seed tomato is ready. Now we need to get seeds from it in order to be able to plant an already beloved variety in the future. The tomato seeds themselves are in a shell that can be removed by fermentation. To do this, take the containers in which you will release the seeds. It can be disposable cups, jars of sour cream, yogurt, etc. Be sure to sign the containers or, if you want to use them more than once, stick masking tape and write on it.

The seed tomato ripening on the window should not overripe, it is only necessary that it ripens well - until it softens slightly, otherwise the seeds inside may germinate.

Carefully, with a teaspoon, remove the seeds along with the juice and pulp. If the variety is fleshy, there may be little liquid, but you should not add water, the seeds may suffocate and die. It is better to add liquid from another, more juicy fruit. The remaining parts of the tomato after removing the seeds can be used to make sauce, ketchup, tomato paste, etc.

"Fermentation" of seeds

Place cups with seeds in a warm place to start the fermentation process. The heat will break up the pulp surrounding the tomato seeds and make it easier to peel. The speed of fermentation depends on the weather and can last up to 3 days. If the days are hot, the process will go faster, if cool, then slower.

Periodically, at least once a day, the seeds must be shaken or stirred. Watch closely and do not miss the moment when they float up, the liquid will remain below, and a light white film will appear on the surface.

This is a signal that the fermentation process is over. Now the seeds must be washed. To do this, you will need a sieve, preferably a metal one. Pour the liquid from the jars into it and rinse the seeds under running warm water, stirring gently with your fingers.

It is necessary to wash until the seeds are clean. From time to time, wipe the bottom of the strainer with a sponge or cloth, so the pulp that is no longer needed will be better removed.

Sorting tomato seeds in water

After the seeds are washed, wipe the bottom of the sieve with a dry cloth to remove excess liquid. If there is a desire to immediately sort full-weight seeds, then after washing, place them in a weak solution table salt(1/2 teaspoon of salt per 1 glass of water). Mix and let stand.

Empty seeds will float, while full-bodied seeds will sink to the bottom. Throw away the floating seeds without regret, and rinse the remaining seeds in water and lay them out to dry. It is better to dry them in one layer, in vivo, on a material to which they do not stick when dried, for example, on disposable plates. On the plates, pre-write the names of the varieties.

Storing tomato seeds

In order for the seeds not to deteriorate during storage, they must be thoroughly dried for 5-7 days, not forgetting to mix occasionally. With proper storage, they do not lose their germination for 6 - 8 years. After this period, the percentage of viable seeds will be less, so it is advisable to renew the seeds every four years.

Tomatoes grown from their own planting material will be much stronger and more stable. The plant adapts over time to your soil type and specific climate zone. And if in the first year of planting you really liked the variety with your palatability, appearance, but it turned out to be not very productive, do not rush to discount it, collect your seeds and plant again, most likely the result will surprise and delight you.

It is important that the seeds "breathe" during storage. So it's better to use paper bags or fabric pouches. Store the seeds in a dry place, avoiding a significant decrease or increase in temperature. The most favorable temperature is + 10 ... + 15 ° С, but temperature regime ordinary living room.

Personally, I keep my rather large collection in envelopes indicating the variety, its main characteristics and the year of collection. If the variety was purchased from another collector, then I add his name and place of residence. Envelopes with planting material are in a box designed to store only tomatoes.

Your own tomato seeds - expert advice

Tomatoes growing in the garden can be suppliers of not only fragrant fruits, but also seed. But only if we are not talking about the so-called hybrids

F1, whose descendants do not retain the characteristics of the mother plant.

To collect seeds, pick a couple of tomatoes from a healthy plant (the number of fruits depends on how much seed you need).

Place a label next to each glass with the name of the cultivar or, if the cultivar is not known, detailed description virtues of the mother plant.

Cut each tomato in half, remove the seeds from the pulp and place in a clean glass. Tip: The easiest way to scrape out the seeds is with a teaspoon.

When the mucus is completely separated from the seeds (they settle to the bottom of the container), rinse the seeds on a sieve. Now they are clean and smooth.

Pour water into a glass. Soon the fermentation process will begin, as a result of which, after a few days, the mucus covering the seeds will lag behind them.

Dry the "seeds" on a kitchen towel. Then place the seed in labeled paper bags.

In caring for tomatoes important role stepson plays, that is, the removal of lateral shoots growing in the axils of the leaves. If they are broken out before they reach a length of 10 cm, the resulting "wounds" will quickly heal. It is necessary to cut off the stepchildren with your fingers, leaving a small stump so that a new one does not grow in place of the remote shoot.

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Anyone who grows tomatoes knows how important planting material. However, this condition applies to planting any plant.

And yet, this question is most relevant to tomatoes.

Identify a few tomato bushes to take extra care of during the season.

High-quality tomato seeds are obtained when harvested from 2-3 brushes, not earlier or later, since when harvesting the first or last crop, the plants may be infected with a disease or even weakened. The approximate date for collecting tomato seeds is the end of August.

Hybrid varieties are not suitable for this due to the fact that they are obtained as a result of crossing, which means they cannot produce a full-fledged seed.

How to collect tomato seeds

Collect the brown tomatoes, at the age of 40-45 days, and put in heat for ripening at a temperature of 23-25ºС. After ripening, wash the tomatoes, cut across and squeeze the pulp with seeds into a glass jar, stick a piece of paper with the name of the variety on it. Now, by fermentation, you need to remove the shell from the seeds, which protects against germination. To do this, cover a glass jar with a tomato with gauze and put it in a dark place for 2-4 days. Follow the fermentation process. Don't miss the end of fermentation, when bubbles and a film appear on the surface, and the seeds sink to the bottom. There will be a not very pleasant smell.

If you are late, then the germination of seeds can begin right in the bank.

Carefully drain the fermented mass, pour clean water, shake and drain again, and so on 2-3 times. If you are afraid that the seeds will slip away from you, then rinse them in a colander under running water, making sure that you have completely removed the pulp of the seeds.

Separate the hollow tomato seeds from the full-bodied ones.

To do this, add ½ tsp to a glass of water. salt, mix, pour in the seeds and shake. Full ones will sink to the bottom, and empty ones will float.

Drain the empty seeds, and rinse the good ones with water and lay them out to dry on a saucer or paper plate.

It is better not to lay out on paper so that they do not stick.

Stir occasionally, do not use a hair dryer as a method quick drying everything should be natural.

Storing tomato seeds

Prepared completely dried tomato seeds are laid out in paper bags and cleaned in a dry place. You can store up to 9 years. But after the 4th year of storage, the percentage of germination is lost. On the bag, mark the name of the variety and the date of collection. Before planting tomato seeds, swipe them.

When buying seeds that they like in a store, many subsequently come to the conclusion that what is stated on the package is not true. Those whose seedlings lived up to expectations understand that they cannot afford to buy expensive seeds every year. In such cases, many people think about how to make tomato seeds out of their own, so that in the future they don’t guess “in the thick” and be sure that the planting will definitely germinate.

When you can and when you can't

When choosing, you should pay attention to some evaluation criteria:

• tomatoes should be Tomatoes grown from (as indicated by the F1 mark on the packaging) will not produce a crop with parental characteristics. Hybrids are obtained by many crosses between, and as a result, it may turn out that tomatoes that are not similar to each other will grow in one area. Moreover, hybrids degenerate completely in 1–2 years;
• tomatoes must be fully adapted to the growing area. It happens that with a confluence of favorable climatic conditions, zoned for the southern regions can give good harvest in . In such situations, you need to understand that zoned ones are more adapted to germination, and it is possible to predict the future harvest.

In addition to the above evaluation criteria, the summer resident should opt for tomatoes with typical outward signs(shape, color) and high taste.

fruit requirements.

Collect at home as much as possible more seeds tomatoes will help right choice fruits. There are such requirements for the fruits:

• fruits are plucked only from strong and well-developed bushes without any signs of disease;
• fruits are plucked only from the first lower branch of the bush. The reason is that the flowers on the lower branches bloom early, when bee activity is still low, and there is no risk of getting a pollinated own hybrid;
• the fruit must be given time to fully mature on the bush. The main thing here is not to miss this moment, because overripe fruits are not suitable for collecting material. When overripe, the fermentation process that occurs in the pulp (mushy part of the pulp) of a tomato destroys the protective shell of the seed, which contains substances that prevent their germination.

Did you know? The green aerial parts of tomatoes contain glycoalkaloids and are considered toxic. Working with tomato bushes without gloves, there is a possibility of poisoning with manifestations of dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

With this approach to the selection of tomato fruits, the germination of the material obtained, as a rule, justifies expectations.

What you need

The fence is a simple process and does not require special tools or any fixtures. To collect you will need:

• ripe tomatoes;
• cutting knife;
• tablespoon or teaspoon;
• capacity;
• sieve or gauze cut, folded 3 times;
• paper kitchen towel or a napkin;
• paper bag (cloth bag, etc.) for.

Everything you need to collect tomato seeds can be found in every home.

Receipt process: normal way

Gather material for future landing how can in the usual way, and more simplified. Good quality and high germination can be ensured by the usual harvesting method using fermentation (fermentation).

Did you know? Breeders of the University of California, as a result of crossing the wild-growing Galapagos Islands with locally cultivated, bred a new hybrid variety with salty fruits. The peculiarity lies in the fact that you can water the plant with salty sea water.

A pre-prepared tomato, for unimpeded access to the seed chambers, is cut lengthwise into two parts or cut into slices. The number of chambers in a tomato determines its variety. So, for some varieties, you can get open access to the chambers by cutting it into 4 parts, while others require smaller cuts.

After cutting the tomato, the liquid from the chambers must be removed into the prepared container. You can correctly collect the contents both with a regular spoon (tablespoon or teaspoon) and with your fingers. Any dishes (glass, porcelain, plastic) are suitable for these purposes.

There should be enough juice from the tomato to completely cover the seeds.

fermentation

For the fermentation process, the container with the contents must be covered with a leaky lid and set aside for a while. Depending on climatic conditions, this process in different regions may take a different amount of time in the range of 24-48 hours.

Important!In warm or hot conditions, the fermentation process is much faster. It is important not to miss the moment of its commission, otherwise the seeds will begin to germinate and become unusable.

The completion of the process is indicated by the appearance of air bubbles and a film on the surface. At the same time, the juice brightens, and the seeds sink to the bottom.

After completed fermentation, the future planting material must be thoroughly washed. To do this, the contents of the container are poured into a sieve and rinsed with running water. When washing, it is important to separate all the remaining pulp.

Drying of planting material

Thoroughly washing the seeds excess fluid it is necessary to allow time to drain by placing a sieve on a paper towel. After drying a little, the remains must be thoroughly dried on a flat surface. For these purposes, it is better to use a small plate (a plastic one is also suitable), it will be much easier to collect seeds from such a surface.

When harvesting different varieties care must be taken not to confuse or accidentally mix the material, and containers, for reliability, must be signed.
Seeds need to be allowed to dry completely. This process will take 5 to 7 days. After drying, the planting material is placed in signed paper bags (cloth bags, etc.) and stored in a dark, cool room until spring.

During storage, sudden changes in temperature and humidity must be avoided.

Fast and easy way

Some circumstances, such as cramped living conditions or lack of free time, do not always make it possible to prepare tomato seeds at home in the usual way. In such cases, you can resort to an easier quick method. This requires only 3 things: a ripe tomato, a knife and a paper kitchen towel (napkin or plain paper).
The contents extracted from the cut tomato, together with the pulp, should be smeared on a paper towel and set aside to dry for 5-7 days. At the end of drying, each seed must be separated by hand from the towel and put into a prepared bag (pouch) for storage.

The quality of the prepared material fast way will be somewhat worse than with the fermentation method, but the germination will remain at an acceptable level.

Important!Store seeds in glass containers and plastic bags Not recommended. Such storage will lead to moldiness.

Each summer resident has his own harvesting methods, tested by time and by trial and error. But their essence is the same, only approaches to some processes differ.
Preparation tips:

• unripe (brown) fruits can be used to collect material. First you need to give them time to ripen in a room for 1-2 weeks;
• for separation quality material from defective seeds washed after fermentation should be placed in a solution (1 teaspoon of salt per 1 cup warm water). Planting material floating on the surface - unsuitable for planting;
• future planting material can be pre-disinfected using

Did you like the tomatoes that grew this season? Then you can prepare their seeds for planting seedlings next season yourself. We are talking about varieties, not hybrids. The latter in this case will not pass on their outstanding qualities to their descendants.

Benefits of self-collecting seeds:

1. Savings on the purchase of seed.
2. The number of seeds in bags often does not correspond to the norm in a smaller direction (deception).
3. Sellers falsifying expiration dates on unsold balances.
4. No need to look for your favorite variety in stores. Relevant if it's rare.
5. You can prepare the amount of seeds you need with the necessary stock.
6. Grown from own hands harvested seeds tomatoes will be better adapted to the local climate.
7. Own seeds You can pre-etch with any convenient method to improve their germination.
8. You will know exactly what kind of seeds you are planting. There will be no unpleasant surprises.

Rules for choosing tomatoes:

• For harvesting seeds, it is better to use tomatoes that appeared among the first. In a greenhouse, fruits from the second and third brushes are well suited for these purposes, and in open field- from the first. The fact is that during the flowering of the lower ovaries, the bees are not yet so active, which means that the likelihood of cross-pollination (leads to the loss of parental properties) is less. In addition, the lower fruits are usually larger than the upper ones. And 1 more important nuance- the probability of infection of the plant by fungi and viral diseases on the initial stage its development below. Thus, the collected seed will be healthy.
• Select seeds from fruits of the desired size, shape, color.
• It is more convenient to pick brown tomatoes (immature) and ripen them at home. Overripe fruits are not suitable, as their embryos are already ready for germination, so the seeds will not be stored well. In addition, after drying, they are very likely to completely lose their germination.
• Select fruits for seeds only from healthy plants. This way you will avoid the possibility of planting infected seed.

Seed collection

Tomatoes picked while still brown should be washed, allowed to dry and removed for natural ripening at a temperature of about +25 C. The main thing is to make sure that the fruits do not overripe.

Stages:

1. Fermentation. Ripened, but not overripe tomatoes, carefully cut into 2 halves.
2. Remove the seeds, along with the liquid surrounding them, with a tablespoon and transfer them to a jar, a small bowl, a plastic cup. Seeds of each variety should be placed in a separate container. We immediately sign them so as not to get confused in the future.
3. Cover the seed container with gauze on top and put it in a dark shaded place for fermentation (fermentation). The process takes about 2-3 days. When done, the surrounding juice will turn light in color, most of the seeds will sink to the bottom. By this time, a film or a lot of bubbles should form on top.
4. All liquid, together with floating seeds (dead), must be drained. This is a waste. To prevent healthy sunken seeds from falling out, use a strainer.
5. Rinse the remaining seeds carefully.
6. Dilute 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 glass of water. Pour the resulting saline solution selected washed seeds. Those suitable for landing will sink, while those of poor quality will float.

Storage

It remains for us to dry the remaining seeds and remove them for proper storage. To do this, we post them thin layer on a clean, dry cloth, paper towel, or toilet paper. Each seed should be at a distance from the neighboring ones.

When the tomato seeds are dry, transfer them to paper bags. Be sure to sign on them the name of the variety and the year of collection.

On average, the seeds collected in the described way retain their germination capacity for 4-5 years.