Tomatoes are a favorite vegetable for many Russians. Almost no vegetable garden, not a single one country cottage area does not do without this culture. Modern tomato varieties have more than a hundred species that differ in taste, color, shape and size. Growing tomatoes in your garden is not so difficult - this culture is not capricious. However, in order for the crop to please you with its quality and quantity, you need good seeds... Of course, they can be bought ready-made. But if you collect them yourself, you will not only save money, but also eliminate the likelihood of buying a "pig in a poke".
How to choose tomatoes for seed collection
The choice of tomatoes from which the seeds will be extracted is very important. Because the germination of the future harvest, the size and quality of the fruits depends on this. To select seed tomatoes, you still need to choose a couple of the strongest and strongest bushes in advance. For collecting seeds, tomatoes need to be picked only from the lower ovary. This is due to the fact that the very first tomatoes (on the lower ovaries) bloomed in May, when the bees were not so active and did not pollinate the flowers. This means we are picking a pure tomato variety, not a pollinated hybrid. By the way, many summer residents mistakenly believe that by taking seeds from a hybrid tomato, they will get the same fruit. In fact, this is not the case. By taking seeds from a hybrid, you can get a distant reminder of one of the "parents" of the cross. In addition, if you take tomatoes from the upper ovaries, their seeds will give small fruits in the future.
Pre-selected bushes need to be surrounded with care and attention - water them more thoroughly, protect them from pests and diseases. If you choose tomatoes for seeds from the total mass, without knowing which bush the tomato is from, you can "run into" a diseased fruit without even knowing it.Of the tomatoes plucked from the lower ovaries, the most beautiful specimens should be chosen. Choose a medium sized tomato that is the most typical shape for the variety. Some summer residents are trying to get seeds from a tomato of an unusual shape for their variety, hoping that the future harvest will be the same. This is fundamentally wrong. The unusual shape of a tomato depends on external conditions - the amount of sun, watering activity. And it is not transmitted in any way through seeds.
A few more words about seed fruits. There is an opinion that it is better to take overripe tomatoes for seeds. This is not true. Seeds from overripe fruits can begin to germinate ahead of time, even at the stage of their collection.
So, tomatoes "correct" in all respects have been harvested, now you need to extract seeds from them.
- After harvesting, the fruits should be left for some time in a warm place so that they "ripen". Three to four days are usually sufficient.
- After that, the fruits are cut and all the pulp with seeds is released into a clean dish.
- You've probably noticed that tomato seeds are covered with slimy pulp. This pulp contains substances (inhibitors) that protect the seed from germination inside the fruit. In order for the seeds to be viable, they must be cleaned of this pulp. It is almost impossible to do it manually without damaging the seeds. But you can get rid of the shell through the fermentation process.
- To seed with tomato juice fermented, all the slurry needs to be poured into a jar, covered with gauze and put in warm place... It is not recommended to add water, otherwise the seeds may suffocate and die.
- At this stage of seed preparation, it is very important not to miss the moment when fermentation is complete. If the seeds are taken out ahead of time, they will not clear of their shell, and if they are overexposed, they can begin to germinate right in the slurry - after which they will become unsuitable for storage. To choose the right moment, pay attention to the gruel itself. If the surface is covered with a film, bubbles come out of the slurry, the liquid itself has brightened a little, and the seeds have already sunk to the bottom of the jar, then the time has come - the seeds are ready.
- All the slurry is carefully drained so as not to miss the seeds that have settled at the bottom. After that, the seeds are thoroughly washed with water. The cloudy liquid is changed until it becomes practically transparent. You can also rinse the seeds in a strainer - this is much more convenient.
- After that, the seeds for planting should be subjected to another stage of filtration. All seeds should be divided into full-weight and unripe seeds. To do this, dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water and drop the seeds there. Those that settle at the bottom are good and high-quality specimens, and those that come up are dummies from which nothing will grow.
- If you want to protect your future seedlings from pests and diseases, the seeds can be subjected to another stage of processing. This will help disinfect the seeds from pathogens. This can be done with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, copper sulfate or simple laundry soap... The seeds should be soaked for 20-30 minutes in pale pink, bluish, or soap solution... After that, they are thoroughly washed.
- Finally, our seeds are ready for planting. Now you need to dry. To do this, they are pre-blotted with a cotton towel, and then laid out on the newspaper. Seeds are dried in a hot, ventilated place. Remember to stir them periodically to ensure they dry thoroughly.
This simple algorithm of actions will help you to collect the highest quality seeds that will give a good, selective harvest.
However, in order for the seeds to grow safely in the soil in the coming years, they need to be able to be preserved. For this, the seeds dried on the newspaper are placed in a paper bag and sealed. You need to store tomato seeds in a cool and dry place - they are afraid of moisture and immediately deteriorate from it. The best place to store the seed envelope is on the refrigerator door - it's cool, dry, and dark.
When packing envelopes with seeds, do not forget to sign them. Be sure to mark the variety harvested seeds, as well as the time of their collection. This is especially true if you grow different varieties of tomatoes. Right harvested seeds can grow even 8-10 years after harvest. However, it is best not to plant seeds that are more than three to four years old. If this year turned out to be fruitful for tomatoes, harvest seeds for future use, for the next few years.
What is the advantage of self-collecting seeds
The fact is that do-it-yourself seeds are carefully filtered and selected. If you do everything right, you will get the most viable, viable and selected seeds that are guaranteed to give a good result. On an industrial scale, seeds are most often simply collected and packaged. Buying a ready-made bag of tomato seeds, you can get seeds, the germination rate of which is very low. In addition, the fruits may be small. All your growing efforts will go to naught, a shame, isn't it?
To prevent this from happening, do not be too lazy to start collecting tomato seeds yourself. And then you can enjoy delicious, sweet and juicy tomatoes that you have grown with your own hands!
Video: how to collect tomato seeds
Tomatoes are one of the most beloved by Russian summer residents cultivated plants... They are grown, perhaps, in every vegetable garden. Seeds for seedlings can, of course, be purchased at a specialist store. However, it is easier not to waste money and prepare them yourself. We will talk about how to collect tomato seeds correctly in this article.
Which tomato seeds can be used
Only varietal tomatoes are suitable for seeds. Look at that pack you took from planting material in the spring. If it says "hybrid", these tomatoes are not suitable for seeds. If you manage to grow something from them, it is parental varieties that are unlikely to give good harvest... You can also buy tomatoes for seeds at a grocery store. These are the so-called family varieties.
But, of course, the most simple and reliable way- it is to pick the ripe tomato from the bush grown with your own hands, on which the most delicious fruits grow. Try to select the specimen with the strongest distinctive features. positive qualities of this particular variety.
Seed collection
So how to harvest tomato seeds correctly? It is best to leave the selected tomato on the bush for as long as possible. Let it ripen and become very soft. In order for someone not to accidentally rip it off, be sure to mark it. For example, tie the stem next to the fruit with a colored cloth (gently, not overtightening). After the whole tomato crop has been harvested, you can pick the seed tomatoes. Then the tops are removed from the garden. It is best to dry it and burn it immediately. This is a very good prevention against many diseases of tomatoes, in particular from powdery mildew and late blight.
What events must be held
As you can see, the question of how to collect tomato seeds is not difficult to solve. It is much more difficult to keep them fit for planting until spring. Moreover, properly prepared planting material may not lose its qualities for several years. In order for the seeds to survive until spring, they must be separated from the pulp, rinsed and dried thoroughly.
How to separate seeds from pulp
So, how to harvest tomato seeds from an already plucked specimen? Bring your chosen tomato home and place it on a saucer. Next, you should scoop out the pulp from it together with the seeds with a spoon and place it in some small container, for example, in a jar of mayonnaise.
In order for the planting material to be separated from the pulp, it is necessary to ensure that all this tomato pulp ferments. To do this, water is poured into a jar so that it completely covers the pulp with seeds. In this case, the container must remain air gap... Otherwise, the fermentation process will be difficult. The jar should be covered plastic wrap... Secure it with an elastic band or tie it with a string. Several holes should be made in the film. Place the container in a warm, dark place. Over the next four days, the gruel in the water must be stirred daily.
How to Take Tomato Seeds? Or rather, how to separate them from the pulp? When the fermentation process is over, you will see the seeds sink to the bottom of the jar. Some will float to the surface. This material is completely unsuitable for sowing. Therefore, such light seeds just need to be collected and thrown away.
Those that have sunk to the bottom are collected with a spoon. Place them on a plate. There will probably be a few seeds that have not separated from the pulp. Take them with her and lay them down with the others. Next, the inoculum is placed on a sieve and washed with water. As a result, the pulp will separate completely.
Disinfection of seeds
In order for the seeds to be better stored, as well as to destroy pathogens that could well live in the selected tomato, the future planting material should be treated with a very weak solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate. Put it in a container with slightly pinkish or greenish water and hold for 20 minutes.
Drying of planting material
After that, the seeds should be thoroughly dried. Spoon them out of the water and lay them out on a piece of paper. You can use a disposable paper plate. It will be more convenient. It is much more difficult to dry the seeds on the fabric, since in this case they strongly stick to each other. During drying, the planting material should be mixed.
Once all the seeds are completely separated from each other, they can be poured into a paper envelope and wrapped. The stores also sell special adhesive packages designed specifically so that gardeners, having collected the material themselves, can store seeds in them. It is very convenient to save a tomato at home with their use. You can purchase several of these, for each type of vegetable separately.
Be sure to sign the envelope. It should indicate the variety of tomato, as well as the time of collection of seeds. In any case, the year must be marked. Tomato planting material retains its qualities for about three years.
How to store seeds?
We have figured out how to get tomato seeds. Now let's take a look at how to store them correctly. Place envelopes with planting material in a cool, dark place. Of course, they will keep well at room temperature. That is, you can put them, say, on the mezzanine of the cabinet. However, it is much safer to store harvested tomato seeds in a cellar. So if there is one, do not be too lazy to go down there and leave the bags there. Envelopes with tomato planting material are usually placed in a box designed specifically for storing seeds independently collected from the garden.
Sometimes the seeds are wrapped in paper and stored in the refrigerator. Don't just put them too close to the freezer. Place them in one of the compartments on the door, preferably the lowest one.
What you need to know
Thus, now it became clear to you how to prepare tomato seeds correctly. What else do you need to know? Of course, it is possible to separate the seeds from the pulp by a simple rinsing, or mechanically... However, it is known that the fermentation process contributes to the destruction different kinds pathogens. Tomatoes grown from such planting material will be stronger and more resistant to various infections.
The question of how to prepare tomato seeds, as well as how to store them, comes down mainly to preventing them from rotting. Paper bags for planting material are used because in this case it will not collect moisture. You can, of course, take plastic ones. However, they should be thoroughly dried before filling the seeds. If at least a little water remains on their surface, it will subsequently be absorbed into the planting material. As a result, the seeds will become moldy, start to rot and become unsuitable for planting.
After taking out a bag of seeds from the refrigerator or taking it out of the cellar in the spring, you should not print it right away. Wait for the envelope to warm up to room temperature. Otherwise, condensation may form inside it.
How to prepare seeds for planting
How to properly collect tomato seeds in the fall, as well as how to store them correctly, we found out. Let's now see how to prepare them for planting. Before embedding the material in seedling boxes, the seeds must be warmed up. They are taken out of envelopes, scattered on a platter and placed in the oven for three hours. Such heating is carried out at a temperature of 60 degrees. This event is another preventive measure against various kinds of infections.
Processing with a weak solution of potassium permanganate is also a procedure necessary so that a healthy and delicious tomato... You can prepare seeds for planting by dipping them for 20 minutes in a 1% potassium permanganate solution. Thus, the planting material is additionally disinfected. This is one of the most important preparatory procedures, which cannot be neglected. After processing with potassium permanganate, the planting material must be thoroughly rinsed.
Recharge and germination
It is important not only to know how to properly collect tomato seeds, preserve them and disinfect them. It is also necessary to nourish them with microelements necessary for better germination and intensive development of seedlings. Prepare one liter of solution with the addition of the following components: 0.5 g vitriol, 0.2 g boric acid, 0.5 g of zinc sulfate. Soak the seeds in it for a few hours.
Further, the planting material should be germinated. For this, the seeds are placed in wet sand or wet gauze. Thus, they are kept for about three days. At the same time, the air temperature in the room should not fall below 23-25 degrees. After the sprouts sprout, the planting material is placed in the refrigerator for another three days (temperature + 3-5 degrees).
Well, we think that now you understand how to properly collect tomato seeds, store them, disinfect them and prepare them for planting. Especially for you, we have tried to cover this topic as fully as possible. We hope our recommendations will help you harvest a good tomato harvest.
To obtain quality seed material on the site we select 1-2 productive plants, for which we maintain careful care. It is not recommended to take fruits from the total mass for seed purposes. They can be found either from diseased or from low-yielding plants.
For seeds, they take well-formed fruits typical of a given variety from 2-3 brushes (if grown in a greenhouse) and from the lower brush (if grown on open area). Tomatoes formed later are not suitable, since the offspring from them will be with small fruits.
Before selecting tomatoes for seeds, you should familiarize yourself with the 5 most common mistakes.
- Inexperienced gardeners naively believe that the exact same tomatoes can be obtained from hybrids. It's impossible! Hybrid plants are obtained by crossing two or more varieties. The resulting seeds are first generation F1 hybrids. The main disadvantage F1 hybrids - you cannot take seeds from them, since the fruits can remotely resemble "parents" and be completely tasteless.
- Lovers take any fruit they like, forgetting that bees also participate in the pollination process. Consequently, the site also has the opportunity to get your own hybrids. In order not to accidentally take a hybrid plant, the fruits need to be plucked only from the lower brush. Flowers bloom there in May, when bee activity is not yet high and the risk of cross-pollination is minimized.
- Many people shoot the largest tomato for seeds, without thinking that big size not typical for this variety. The fruit has grown so big just this year, thanks to a coincidence.
- Fans of experimenting remove tomatoes with an atypical shape for this variety. If the typical shape of the variety is round, then you cannot take the fruit of a cone-shaped or any other shape. Such fruits are victims of cross-pollination. For seeds, you need to take tomatoes that have pronounced typical characteristics for a given variety: size, shape of the fruit, color.
- Sometimes they rush to take overripe fruits. The seeds in such tomatoes can germinate and lose their germination.
How to harvest tomato seeds correctly
The fruits are taken in brown ripeness and ripened, spreading out in the heat. Before collecting tomato seeds, the fruits are washed, cut across and lightly pressed, the pulp and juice are released into a glass or plastic dish.
The seed coat contains substances that prevent their germination inside the fruit (inhibitors). The protective shell is destroyed during fermentation (fermentation). A jar of tomato pulp is covered with gauze and placed in a dark place for fermentation in its own juice for 2-3 days. You cannot add water. In the water, the seeds suffocate and die.
As soon as bubbles and a film appear on the surface of the contents of the jar, the juice becomes clarified, and the seeds sink to the bottom, the fermentation process is over. It's time to separate the seeds. It is important not to miss this moment, otherwise they, freed from the protective shell, can begin to germinate right in the jar.
The fermented mass that has risen is carefully drained, add pure water, shake the jar and discard the cloudy liquid again. This is done several times.
Now you need to separate the empty unripe seeds from the full ones. Take half a teaspoon of table salt in a glass of water and mix. The seeds are placed in the solution and shaken: the full-fledged ones will sink to the bottom, the empty ones will float up. Those who surfaced are thrown out without regret.
The remaining seeds are washed, squeezed onto a cotton cloth, poured onto paper, laid out thin layer and dried for several days, stirring from time to time.
The finished seed material is stored in paper bags in a dry place - tomato seeds are very afraid of moisture.
Germination lasts for 5-9 years, but it is advisable to use them no later than 4 years.
Two ways to collect seeds for the lazy
Before collecting tomato seeds, fruits with signs of spoilage are removed, the rest are washed and wiped dry. Ripe tomatoes are cut in half, pulp with seeds is taken out with a spoon and poured into a half-liter jar. The jar is covered with a breathable cloth and placed in a dark place for 2 days for ripening.
When the seeds sink to the bottom, they are washed several times with clean, settled water. Next, you need to pickle them. To do this, rub 1 tablespoon of laundry soap with a fatty acid content of at least 72%. The soap is poured with water and stirred. Into the resulting solution white pour out the seed for 30 minutes. After disinfection, the seeds are washed and dried on paper, a plate and a flat dish. Store the seed in the refrigerator door.
This method does not involve fermentation. The seeds are removed from a ripe tomato without signs of spoilage and spread on a paper napkin. The napkin is signed with the indication of the variety and date, and for several days it is dried in the sun (on the windowsill). Then it is put into a box for storage.
Now you know, how to get tomato seeds... It remains to recall a few rules:
- To obtain quality seed material, hybrids are not used.
- V good years seed material is collected with a margin of 3-4 years.
- When working with seeds of several varieties, you need to be extremely careful. They pay particular attention to the labels to avoid confusion in varieties and dates of collection.
Buying seeds of a favorite in a store, many subsequently come to the conclusion that what is stated on the package does not correspond to reality. Those whose seedlings justified their hopes understand that they cannot afford to buy expensive seeds every year. In such cases, many people think about how to make tomato seeds from their own, so as not to guess "in the thick" in the future and to be sure that the planting will germinate.
When you can and when not
When choosing, you should pay attention to some evaluation criteria:
- tomatoes should be. Tomatoes grown from (as evidenced by the F1 mark on the package) will not yield parental harvests. 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 the same area. Moreover, hybrids degenerate completely in 1–2 years;
- tomatoes must be fully adapted to the growing area. It so happens that with a confluence of favorable climatic conditions zoned for southern regions, can give a good harvest c. V similar 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 external characteristics (shape, color) and high taste. 
Fruit requirements
Collecting as many tomato seeds as possible at home will help right choice fruits. There are such requirements for fruits:
- fruits are picked only from strong and well-developed bushes without any signs of disease;
- fruits are torn off only from the first lower branch of the bush. The reason is that the flowers on the lower branches fade early, when the activity of the bees is still low, and there is no risk of getting a pollinated own hybrid;
- the fruit must be given time to fully ripen on the bush. The main thing here is not to miss this moment, because overripe fruits are not suitable for taking 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. When working with tomato bushes without gloves, there is a possibility of poisoning with manifestations of dizziness, nausea and vomiting.
With this approach to the choice of tomato fruits, the germination of the resulting material, as a rule, meets expectations. 
What is needed
Fence is a simple process and does not require special tools or any gadgets. To collect you will need:
- ripe tomatoes;
- cutting knife;
- a 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.
Obtaining process: normal way
You can collect material for future planting as the usual way, and more simplified. Good quality and high germination can be ensured by the usual method of harvesting by means of fermentation (fermentation).
Did you know? Breeders at the University of California, as a result of crossing wild-growing Galapagos Islands with local cultivated, bred new hybrid variety with salted fruits. The peculiarity is that you can water the plant with salty sea water.
The pre-prepared tomato, for unhindered 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 for others, a smaller cut is required. 
Having cut the tomato, the liquid from the chambers must be removed into a prepared container. You can correctly collect the contents both with the help of a regular spoon (tablespoon or tea) 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 different amount 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 evidenced 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 fermentation has taken place, the future planting material must be thoroughly rinsed. To do this, the contents of the container are poured into a sieve and rinsed with running water... When rinsing, it is important to separate any remaining pulp. 
Drying of planting material
After thoroughly rinsing the seeds, the excess liquid must be allowed to drain off by placing the sieve on a paper towel. After drying a little, the remains must be carefully dried on a flat surface. For these purposes, it is better to use a shallow plate (a plastic one is also suitable), from such a surface it will be much easier to collect seeds.
When harvesting different varieties care must be taken not to confuse or accidentally mix the material, and containers, for reliability, must be signed. 
The seeds need to be allowed time to dry completely. This process will take from 5 to 7 days... At the end of drying, the planting material is placed in signed paper bags (cloth bags, etc.) and stored in a dark, cool room until spring.
During storage it is necessary to avoid sharp changes temperatures and changes in humidity.
Fast and easy way
Some circumstances, such as cramped living conditions or lack of free time, do not always make it possible to harvest tomato seeds at home in the usual way. In such cases, you can resort to an easier, faster method. This only requires 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, must be smeared over paper towel and set aside to dry for 5-7 days. At the end of drying, each seed must be separated from the towel by hand and put into a prepared bag (sack) for storage.
The quality of the harvested material fast way will be slightly worse than with the fermentation method, but germination will remain at an acceptable level.
Important!Store seeds in glass containers and plastic bags Not recommended. This storage will lead to moldiness.
Each summer resident has his own procurement methods, time-tested and trial and error. But their essence is the same, only the approaches to some processes differ. 
Procurement tips:
- unripe (brown) fruits can be used for material collection. First, you need to give them time to ripen in a room for 1-2 weeks;
- for branch quality material from defective seeds washed after fermentation should be placed in a solution (1 teaspoon of salt per 1 glass warm water). Landing material floating on the surface - unsuitable for landing;
- future planting material can be pre-disinfected with. To do this, it must be soaked for 30 minutes in soapy water (1 tablespoon grated 72% of household