You can collect the seeds of your favorite cucumber variety yourself. This will save money and time at the beginning of the planting season in subsequent years. However, seed collection must be approached very responsibly, since not all fruits are suitable for this purpose.
Hybrids obtained by crossing two different varieties are not suitable for harvesting cucumber seeds. The bags with such seeds are marked F1 or F2 (F - from the Italian filli - children). First generation hybrids are designated F1. The offspring obtained from F1 is called a second generation hybrid - F2. Hybrids have the best qualities of their parent varieties, bear fruit actively and for a long time, and are less susceptible to diseases. But the seeds of these cucumbers will not produce the same fruits next year, so they are unsuitable for harvesting.
What varieties of cucumbers are left for seeds?
Of course, buying ready-made seeds at a gardening store is much more convenient, but if you come across a variety that you like, you want to breed it. Any variety of cucumbers is suitable for collecting seeds. The only condition is that the variety should not be a hybrid, but naturally obtained. This is easy to check. The packaging contains markings – F1/F2. This means that the variety is hybrid. It is not worth getting the seeds of such vegetables. You can get acquainted with hybrids using the example of cucumber variety Shosha F1.
Cucumber varieties with this mark are not suitable for collecting seeds
Vegetables of any variety obtained naturally from the seed are used for seeds. Such cucumbers only improve their quality with each sowing.
Good to know:
Warm bed for cucumbers in open ground
How to determine that the selected cucumber is ready for seed collection
First, you should definitely determine that the cucumber is ready, and you need to take it and extract the seeds. This can be done using the following criteria:
- The cucumber turned yellow, acquiring a brownish tint, and reached an impressive size.
- The tail (peduncle) has completely dried out . This means that the fruit has completely absorbed all kinds of nutrients necessary for the ripening of seeds. If the tail is still green, then you need to wait, the process is not finished yet.
Which cucumbers to leave for seeds: selection rules
Some gardeners believe that the first ripe cucumber should be left for seeds. But this is optional. Any healthy cucumber you like will be suitable for the seed.
It should not be picked until it is fully ripe. A ripe cucumber becomes yellow and soft.
It is much more important to determine the sex of a cucumber for seeds, rather than the time of its collection. Women's ones are suitable for this - with a square cross-section, that is, such vegetables have four chambers with seeds (tetrahedral). Examine the cucumbers carefully. Seeds from male fruits will not produce abundant harvests, plus they will bloom with male flowers. Male fetuses have three chambers.
The cucumber is male at the bottom, female at the top.
Selected vegetables are marked immediately, plus a board is placed under them so that they do not rot prematurely. You need to pick a seed cucumber when its color changes to yellow-brown and the stalk dries out.
You can already extract the seeds from such a cucumber.
Cut the picked cucumber strictly in half lengthwise into two parts.
You need to take seeds only from the front third of the vegetable.
Glass, wooden or enamel containers are suitable for collection.
Pollinating cucumbers to obtain seeds
All varieties of cucumbers are divided into two types:
- self-pollinating or parthenocarpic;
- bee-pollinated.
In the second case, there is a risk of getting not a pure variety, but a hybrid. This method is suitable if the variety of cucumber does not matter. But if you want to get only a certain species, then you need to carry out manual pollination.
Hand pollination of cucumbers to obtain seeds
To do this, a day before the buds open, carefully tie the male and female flowers together so that insects do not pollinate them. You need to tie 2-3 times more male buds than female ones, so that each female bud is then pollinated by two or three male buds. After a day, remove the cotton wool and begin pollination. This should be done in the morning in dry and warm weather.
Cut off the corollas of male flowers and gently touch them to the stigmas of female flowers. Each flower needs to be pollinated by 2-3 male flowers. Do this as many times as you want to get seed cucumbers. Also, use the last male flower to close the entrance to the female flower, leaving it together with the peduncle and calyx to prevent insects from entering. We have already touched on the topic of male and female flowers in a cucumber and how to identify them in the article Why there are a lot of barren flowers on cucumbers and how to deal with it.
At the end of the procedure, mark the pollinated flowers with multi-colored ribbons.
Rule 1. Know the variety
Having cucumber beds, you know what you sowed. Regular varieties and hybrids have genetic differences. If hybrids were used (marked F1 on the label), then the idea of further production can be abandoned.
The resulting seeds will sprout, grow well, bear fruit, but most of their qualities will be lost: yield, fruit size, resistance to diseases, adverse conditions, pickling properties, etc.
It is possible that a parthenocarpic hybrid will require pollination, the bunch type of fruit formation will be absent, the growing season will change - the time from germination to fruiting, bitterness will appear and the cucumber will become unsuitable for fresh consumption.
Look at the label carefully: F1 is a hybrid that will not pass on its qualities to its offspring. Photo: prosorta.ru
For seeds, take cucumbers of ordinary varieties that were not bred through crossing. This option ensures 100% compliance with the variety and compliance with the characteristics. The best cucumbers for getting seeds with your own hands in the middle zone are:
- Vyaznikovsky;
- Lotus;
- Bush;
- Far Eastern;
- Winner;
- Nezhinsky;
- Cascade;
- Erofey;
- Swag.
Cucumber seeds have a peculiarity: the longer they are stored, the better they germinate. Three- and five-year-old seeds provide high yields. Stored for more than 6 years have reduced germination.
When to pick cucumber for seeds
You need to wait until the cucumber becomes soft and yellow-brown in color. But each variety may have its own characteristics. After harvesting, the vegetable can ripen for some more time in a dry, warm place. Ripening is allowed over the next 2-3 weeks.
Ripe cucumbers of different varieties may look different
Sometimes it is recommended to pick the seed fruits after frost so that the vegetable undergoes stratification by summer heat and winter frosts. This will help you get a bountiful harvest next year.
Which is better - variety or hybrid?
Hybrids of cucumbers are most widespread even among amateurs, since gardeners in practice are convinced of their great advantage over varieties.
- What disadvantages can be noted in cucumber varieties:
- A small number of ovaries on the plant.
- Late fruiting.
- Rapid overgrowth and yellowing of fruits.
- Greens are often bitter.
- Poor disease resistance.
Those who grow cucumber varieties as before, most likely do so out of habit. Moreover, you can always prepare your own seeds. Of the varieties, Elegant, Vyaznikovsky 37, Aquarius, Competitor, Serpentine, and Phoenix are also in demand.
But hybrids have some advantages: they begin to bear fruit earlier than the varieties, their ovaries are formed in each leaf axil (and some hybrids have 2-5 ovaries in 1 axil), the cucumbers are small and do not turn yellow for a long time.
What do cucumber seeds look like?
After collecting the seeds, inspect them carefully. They are in a special shell, which deteriorates very quickly. This shortens the shelf life of seeds. To remove it, dry the seeds in the sun for 3 days, and then rinse off the residue with water.
We have all seen such seeds in cucumbers
High-quality seeds have the same, uniform color with a light cream tint. Depending on the variety, they can be of different sizes.
How to collect cucumber seeds correctly
To separate the seeds, cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Rake the seeds into a glass, wooden or enamel bowl. Next, follow the following procedure:
- if the cucumber was not juicy enough, add water to the container;
- place them in a warm place so that the mixture ferments and the shell separates;
- keep them there for 48 hours;
- After two days, drain the water, as well as all floating seeds and pulp. Such crops will not work;
- Dry the remaining seeds in the sun or indoors. Lay them out in a thin layer on cardboard or gauze.
Well-dried cucumber seeds can be stored under the right conditions for up to 5-6 years. But we must take into account that the longer you keep them, the more the germination level decreases.
To get the maximum number of female plants and a bountiful harvest, seeds should be planted 3 years after harvest.
Subtleties of collecting your own seeds
Ideal "maternal" fetus
Firstly, cucumbers are male and female . To figure out which one you got, cut it crosswise. If you see three closets inside, it’s a “man,” and if there are four, it’s a “lady.” Although, in principle, sometimes you don’t even need to cut it, even its shape can suggest the correct “commonness” of the fruit - male cucumbers have three sides, and female cucumbers have four.
Female fruits are better suited for reproduction. It is believed that they produce fewer barren flowers.
Secondly, the fruit must be fully ripe , massive and yellow-brown. Moreover, his tail must have time to dry out .
In villages, such fruits are contemptuously called “zhupljaki” or “zheltyaki”. They are thrown to the pigs (tinder to the chickens and so on). The seeds in these cucumbers already have a hard shell that clicks slightly on the teeth.
Important! To ensure that none of your household eats the fruits you have planned in the garden (after all, if you cut off the peel, even the “zhuplyaks” go great in a salad), lightly tie its tail with red thread or mark the cucumber in some other way. And so that it does not start to rot (after all, a heavy fruit will probably sag on the branch and end up on wet ground), place a board under it.
Of course, choose cucumbers for propagation from the strongest and largest bushes.
Start date
You need to collect cucumbers for seeds at the very end of the cucumber season . The fact is that if you do not pick greens from the branches, the vine will stop forming new ones. So first, your family should eat up these vegetables for future use, and you should prepare the required amount of salads for the winter, and then take care of the seed fruits.
By the way! The “mother” cucumber can be left in the garden until the frost, so that it lies here for several frosty nights. In this way, the seeds hiding inside will receive stratification. This will help the seeds ripen faster. They can be sown next year.
Collecting seeds step by step
- Cut the fruit. Using a tablespoon, scoop out the seeds along with the inner pulp. It is important to collect them only from the “spout” and the central part of the cucumber, but not from the tail (the fruits from these seeds will grow bitter and tasteless).
- Place the resulting mass in a container (jar, large bowl, basin), filling it 2/3 full.
- Add water (if the cucumber pulp is dry and the juice does not cover the seeds), stir.
- Place this container in a warm place where it will be at least 25 degrees (since it’s summer outside, you can leave it in the yard, but so that your family and pets do not turn it over). You need to throw a piece of gauze on top - it will not allow insects inside, but it will not allow the seeds to suffocate, allowing air to pass through. The seeds should “ferment” in such conditions (succumb to fermentation) for 2, maximum 3 days. If by the end of fermentation a layer of mold appears on top, don’t worry.
- Rinse the seeds several times to remove any pulp. You must also get rid of the seed coat (if you don't separate it, the seeds won't germinate). Seeds that float up when filled with water can also be thrown away - they are empty and will not produce offspring.
- Place the seeds on thick paper (it is better to use cardboard) in one layer. Dry them outside during the day and bring them indoors in the evening to prevent dew or sudden rain from getting them wet. If it’s already cold outside (say, you’ve stratified cucumbers in your garden), you can dry the seeds on a radiator.
Storing seeds until spring
If you did everything correctly, up to 90% of your seeds will germinate in the spring.
Cucumber seeds can be stored for up to 5 or even 6 years.
Ideal storage conditions: paper bag or cloth bag, moderate air humidity (not higher than 60%), average air temperature (up to +12 degrees), darkness.
They can also be kept indoors. But if your house is up to +25 degrees in winter, it is believed that the germination of such seeds is reduced to 1 year. Therefore, it is not recommended to keep them near a radiator, stove, oven or stove. Even mezzanines are prohibited, because this is where hot and stuffy air rises all winter.
Also, this planting material can withstand temperatures dropping to zero. But in this case, monitor the humidity in the room. If it is even slightly higher than normal, the seeds will become damp and die.
Important! As a rule, seeds collected at home should be kept for 2 to 3 years, and only then sown. However, if the seeds have undergone stratification (you left the cucumber in the garden until frost, as I wrote about above), this will speed up their ripening, and the seeds can be used next season.
Warming up can also “adjust” the seeds. Place them on a baking sheet and heat in the oven for 1.5 or 2 hours at 50 degrees. The only “but”: this temperature cannot be set in every electrical appliance, not to mention a gas one...
What if you immediately sow the seeds collected last season, without pre-treatment? They will germinate, but the resulting plants will produce a poor harvest and will be predominantly male. That is, you may not only not have enough for supplies, but you won’t even be able to collect good seeds at the end of the season.
An experienced gardener will tell you more about preparing homemade seeds. She will show the whole process from A to Z: selection of fruit, cleaning and washing of seeds, drying them.
How to properly dry collected seeds
After removing empty and defective seeds, it is important to dry the remaining seeds properly.
The procedure is as follows:
- rinse them with warm running water;
- lay them out on a clean sheet of paper, cardboard, gauze and leave them in a warm and ventilated area until completely dry. They need to be turned over periodically so that they dry evenly;
- They should not be placed near heating appliances. It is better to provide natural warmth and ventilation.
Seed processing and preparation for storage
Seed material must be prepared for long-term storage:
- disinfection - the seeds are placed in a container with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, then washed with water;
- seeds are placed on paper napkins or newspapers to absorb most of the moisture;
- the seeds are spread on sheets of paper, plywood or cardboard in a thin layer, dried in a warm, ventilated place, but not in direct sunlight;
- The drying period is 5-7 days, the seeds are stirred periodically so that they do not stick together and are easily separated from the paper.
High-quality planting material is uniformly colored in a light cream color, has no traces of dried pulp on the shell, and is dried to a flowable state.
How to save cucumber seeds for next year
Proper storage of seeds helps preserve their germination for longer. Place the dried seeds in a paper envelope or canvas bag. You can make these yourself or buy them at a specialty store. In any case, choose a material that allows air to pass through well.
Paper bags are suitable for storing seeds.
Don't add too many seeds. If stored tightly, they may deteriorate. Make a tag on each bag with the name of the variety and the date of harvesting.
How to Make a Simple Seed Storage Envelope
It should be stored in a dry, dark place at a temperature of about 18-20 degrees.
How to test cucumber seeds for germination
When the time comes to plant seeds, in order to improve the quality of the harvest, you must immediately sort out the weak, broken and empty ones. They will not produce a harvest.
The verification method is very simple. Dissolve a teaspoon of regular salt in a liter of water. Place the seeds into the solution and stir with a spoon. After half an hour, the fruitful ones will settle to the bottom, and the empty ones will float to the surface. They are collected and thrown away.
There is also a pre-germination method. To do this, a couple of weeks before sowing, the planting material is placed in a damp cloth and left in a dark, cool place until the sprouts appear. Those that do not have them are thrown away.
