How to grow a cucumber for seeds and correctly collect the seed: step-by-step instructions

Every summer resident has grown at least once cucumbers, and probably everyone has a favorite variety. You can save it by preparing the seeds yourself. How to prepare seed material at home, from which fruit to collect and in what time frame to do it - we will tell you everything in the article.

What varieties are suitable

Any varieties with qualities you like are suitable for collecting seed: taste, yield or appearance. The main thing is that it is a real variety, that is, the distinctive characteristics must be genetically fixed.

Cucumber is a cross-pollinating plant. Fertilization and seed formation are possible only when pollen comes from other plants of the same species. To maintain purity, different varieties of cucumbers must be placed at a distance of at least 600 m from each other. If isolation measures are not followed, the seeds may carry qualities completely different from the plant from which they were collected.

Can hybrids be used?

Thanks to heterosis (the vitality of the hybrid), hybrid plants are characterized by higher yields and better fruit qualities than conventional varieties. However, collecting seed material from hybrids is not recommended.

Hybrids are a generation resulting from the controlled crossing of selected parent plants. The crossing is repeated each time.Hybrids are not propagated because their offspring will be heterogeneous, splitting according to many characteristics will occur and it will not be possible to obtain any predictable harvest.

Important! Bags of hybrid seeds are marked with symbols or F1 indicates that this is a first-order hybrid, that is, seeds obtained from crossing plants of different varieties. If you collect seeds from it and sow them, then next year second-order hybrids, or F2, will grow.

How to grow cucumbers for seeds

Growing cucumbers for further propagation is not difficult. You should select 2-3 of the strongest and most productive bushes and leave 2-3 even and beautiful cucumbers on each until they are fully ripe. It is better to do this towards the end of the season so as not to interfere with the growth of new cucumbers.

The selected fruits are marked (you can tie a ribbon on the tail) and planks are placed under them to protect them from rotting.

IN this article read about why gray rot appears on cucumbers.

When to collect

Cucumbers for food are collected unripe, and for harvesting seeds only fully ripened vegetables are needed. It is better to harvest the fruits after the first cold weather. The temperature difference has a beneficial effect on the embryos, and next year they will germinate and produce a good harvest.

Which fruits to choose

You can understand that a cucumber has reached the required maturity and turned into a seed plant by several signs.

Varieties with black pubescence become brown in color, the peel is covered with a coarse mesh. Smooth fruits or those with white pubescence become yellow with varying degrees of netting. The vegetable softens and the tail dries out.

There is an opinion that for collecting seeds you should select only tetrahedral fruits and discard trihedral ones. However, there is no evidence yet that the yield depends on the number of edges.

How to collect at home

Harvesting seeds from your own fruits consists of several stages:

1. The fruits are picked from the vine and left to ripen for 7-10 days, until they become completely soft.
2. Afterwards, the fruit is cut lengthwise into two equal parts, the seeds and mucus are scraped out with a spoon into a glass container and filled with water to fill 2/3 of the container.
3. The resulting mass is fermented in a warm place for 2-4 days. The resulting gases tear off the mucous membrane, which will interfere with germination. You should not keep the seeds in water longer, otherwise they will begin to hatch.
4. When fermentation is complete, add water to the top of the container and stir. Good seeds will remain at the bottom, and empty, ungerminating ones will float.
5. The water with floating debris and remaining mucus is drained, and the remaining seeds are washed several times in running water.
6. Spread the seed in a thin layer on a saucer or plate to dry. Leave in a dry, warm place. It is better not to use paper, as the seeds may dry to it. To ensure uniform drying, the grains are periodically tossed. Do not heat the seeds to speed up the process.

Seed storage

The dried material is placed in a paper bag, envelope or fabric bag. The main thing is that the material allows air to pass through. You should not pour too many seeds; there should be free space in the container. The bags are labeled with the variety and year of collection. Store seed material in a dry and cool place.

Cucumber seeds remain viable for up to six years. The best harvest is obtained after two to three years of storage.

Read also:

How prepare Chinese cucumbers for the winter.

Benefit, harm and calorie content of cucumber pickle.

What to do, if cucumber seedlings turned yellow.

Conclusion

Collecting cucumber seeds of the variety you like is not difficult, but you need to observe a few nuances. Only varieties, not hybrids, are taken for seed material. The latter will not produce offspring with the expected characteristics.

To harvest seeds, fruits of biological maturity are used: large, soft, brown or yellow in color, with a pronounced mesh on the peel. The seeds are scraped out along with the mucilage and allowed to ferment to separate from the shell. They are then washed and dried. Store in a cool, dry place for up to six years. If everything is done correctly, plants from their own seeds will delight you with a harvest of juicy cucumbers.