For good gardener a high-quality harvest is gratitude for the effort and labor spent. However, to get a good harvest, you should know how to provide high-quality seedlings, what needs to be done so that the taste and commercial quality of the fruits do not deteriorate. If the summer resident does not buy ready seedlings If you sow seeds yourself, you need to know how to choose the right planting material, what fruits to use, and how to store them.

Why do you need proper seed selection?

You can easily propagate your favorite tomato varieties on your own.

Many beginning gardeners follow the path of least resistance, that is, they buy ready-made seedlings. However, despite the attractive appearance, you can make a serious mistake when trying to determine the desired variety “by eye” or expect a high-quality harvest.

You cannot be sure that the seed material was selected from good-quality tomatoes, stored correctly, or selected correctly.

Advantages

• high level of quality;
• one-time germination;
• high level of immunity;
• productivity;
• desired variety;
• freshness of seeds.

Properly selected seeds from domestic tomatoes are guaranteed to produce good and strong shoots.

If the seeds are selected directly by the owner, they are guaranteed to be selected, since a good farm manager will not allow low-quality seeds to be planted. But also only large seeds will be selected.

The planted seedlings will differ high level adaptive properties.

• Among other things, Rarely do domestic seedlings become susceptible to diseases . Self-grown plants have strong immunity against, and are also extremely rarely affected. bacterial diseases. By growing proven tomatoes, you can hope for a productive season, since high-quality planting material was selected.
• Moreover, you can be sure that the seeds won't get mixed up and the summer resident will receive the desired variety.
• An equally important factor is the freshness of the material. A self-grown crop does not require help with pollination, since this growing method involves obtaining a self-pollinating variety.
• Another positive thing is that with this planting method the maximum reduced risk of cross-pollination .

The time for harvesting seeds depends on the fruiting time of the tomato variety in a particular region.

Before making a decision on self-selection, you need to decide on the timing.

In the future, the quality, germination, level of protective properties plants.

If the seeds are selected prematurely, the plant will not be able to adapt as much as possible, will develop poorly, and the level of protective properties will also decrease. Productivity will also suffer. If the selection is late, there is a risk of disease, and the harvest may not be obtained at all.

It is recommended to determine the most suitable timing as the tomato ripens.. Seed material cannot be selected at the borders of maturity, that is, it is forbidden to take raw materials at the very beginning of the ripening period or at the very end of the ripening period. The best option– mid-fruiting.

It is worth noting that different varieties and species, the timing varies - you need to know exactly which species is being planted.

It is necessary to select fruits that most closely match the description of the variety.

Early ripening varieties

Early ripening varieties begin to ripen in mid-July, fruiting ends in the second half of August. Conclusion: collection can begin at the end of July, beginning of August.

Mid-season varieties

Mid-season varieties begin bearing fruit in mid-August and finish in early September. Conclusion: start collecting around August twenty-seventh.

Late ripening varieties

Late-ripening species begin their maturity period at the beginning of September and end at the end of September. Conclusion: collection begins on September fifteenth. It is worth mentioning separately that late varieties are not recommended for central Russia, since tomatoes are susceptible.

Which tomatoes to select

The fruit selected for seed collection must be ripe and healthy.

Inexperienced gardeners have a completely natural question: will the quality of the harvest depend on the size or stage of maturity of the vegetables.

The dependence can be traced not only on the vegetable itself, but also on how the bush develops - weather conditions, quality and type of soil.

There are several conditions for getting healthy seedlings and the future harvest:

• bush growth control;
• determining the strongest bush;
• tracking for external signs fruits;
• tracking of commercial qualities;
• control over varietal conformity;
• determination of the most valuable units;
• elimination of defects;
• sizing.

Our experience. We begin observation by inspecting last year's seedlings. If the seeds sprouted quickly and then bore fruit well, then this is an excellent future seed material.

Collecting tomato seeds

1. As soon as the seedlings have been planted, it is necessary to development monitoring each individual plant in order to to determine the strongest and most robust bush. And you should also find out how quickly the bush develops - how quickly the ovaries appear and fruiting begins.

   The selection of bushes for collecting seed fruits begins from the moment the tomatoes are planted in a permanent place.

2. Next, it is recommended to monitor which bushes develop the largest tomatoes. how quickly the fruits ripen. Trace the shape of formed tomatoes, simultaneous ripening of all units on the bush. It is advisable to monitor compliance with a specific variety - to determine the presence of individual varietal characteristics. Fruit units are selected only from strong, well-developed plants. Among other things, there are vegetables that grow on the second or third tier of the crop.

   A bush with the largest tomatoes is selected.

3. As a last resort, tomatoes are selected from the main stem. It is impossible to extract raw materials from small fruits that have . It is forbidden to sow material from hybrids, as there will be no harvest. If selection risks being delayed until the first frost, it is recommended to pick the tomatoes and leave them to ripen in favorable conditions. As a rule, ripening outside the branches will not affect the quality of the future harvest or the vigor of bush growth.

   If necessary, the fruits are left to ripen at room temperature.

Features of selection and drying

To ensure strong seedlings in the future, stable harvest, delicious tomatoes, certain rules must be followed.

1. The ripe fruit is cut crosswise, since in this position it is easiest to remove the middle - the seed walls will open as much as possible.

   Wash the tomato and cut it in half with a sharp knife.

2. Next, the raw materials are selected into a glass container and left in this form for three days. This will promote fermentation to deform the placenta, because the placenta will not allow the seeds to germinate. Fermentation will destroy pathogenic flora.

   Carefully remove the core with the seeds with a spoon.

3. After three days, mold collects from the container, stir the contents, and drain the floating seeds due to their unsuitability for sowing.

   Store the jar of seeds at room temperature.

4. Stir the contents of the container until nothing else floats to the surface.
5. After mixing, the seeds are washed with running water. Some gardeners recommend calibrating in a saline solution, and removing the floating seeds again, then rinsing again. Place a gauze cloth over the neck of the jar and drain the water.

   It is convenient to store tomato seeds in paper envelope bags.

   • After drying in bags seeds are packaged in paper bags, seal, write the date of collection and variety.
   • The bags should be stored in a dry, dark place.
   • If the room humidity is low, it can be stored at room temperature.
   • Recommended sowing dates are vague, that is, if the selection was made in the fall, you can sow in the coming spring.
   • Some gardeners recommend storing them in a hermetically sealed container in the refrigerator.

   If the storage technology has been followed, it is allowed to leave the seeds for a longer period.

   You can sow every spring for four years. According to individual characteristics certain varieties, some seeds can be stored for a longer period - more than nine years. Varietal features, germination, quality and taste will not be lost from this.

   Among other things, having mastered the technology of selection and storage, you can derive new variety tomatoes. To do this, you should collect the most suitable fruits, select raw materials from them, and prepare them using an already familiar method.

If you are growing own seeds and sow with them, then you are guaranteed to be protected from many plant diseases and can get your own resistant hybrid lines of vegetable plants. Below are a few easy-to-follow rules that will help you with this.

1. At the beginning of the season, prepare some labels or just colored string to mark your seed plants.
2. Observe the seed plants as they develop and select just a few that look particularly healthy and vigorous. Make your choice based on inspection of the entire plant. It is strictly contraindicated to select seeds hastily, hastily walking through an area already affected by the first frosts and collecting the most ripened seeds. Get into the habit of inspecting your plants for breeding purposes. You will soon form your own ideas about what a good, mature, healthy plant should look like.
3. Remember: in order for each plant to different types“to inspire” for full growth and development, different incentives are needed. Spinach or Chinese cabbage, for example, will not immediately produce healthy and strong shoots that are different from other shoots. If one of the shoots is immediately “expelled” into the flower shoot, then it is precisely this that does not need to be taken to the testicle. The plants you want are those that vegetate the longest, producing new leaves, and are the last to “bloom.” On the other hand, species such as cauliflower and broccoli, we need it solely for the sake of their flowers (flower baskets). Therefore, choose among them the earlier ripened ones. Similarly, with radishes: leave for seeds exactly the thick and juicy root vegetable that you most want to eat. Yes, a thick and strong stem indicates a full-fledged root, but it is the stem, and not the flower arrow, especially one that has grown prematurely. This applies to carrots, beets, and turnips. An exception is made for those vegetables that are biennial: they bear fruit only in the second year. With them there is a problem of preservation during the winter. However, it is necessary and worth working with these plants in order to collect your own seeds; gradually you will see that you yourself can instill in them useful qualities and properties through seed selection.
4. Hybrids are the result of crossing two pure “parental” lines. Seeds from hybrids (second generation) should not be collected, since they will return the offspring to parental qualities, and sometimes will be completely sterile (for example, corn hybrids are sterile). Crossbreeding (cross-pollination) means that pollen from one parent flower comes into contact with pollen from another parent flower. The pollen could have been carried by insects or the wind. As a result, the plant obtained from the seeds will not fully correspond to the qualities of either parent. This means that many are pollinated and crossed vegetable plants. So, if you want to maintain the purity of the variety, do not plant zucchini and pumpkins of different varieties, corn of different varieties, as well as table and sugar beets, onions, radishes, turnips and turnips, Brussels sprouts and kohlrabi next to each other. “With less eagerness,” different varieties of tomatoes and eggplants, peppers, celery and carrots are crossed. Beans, lettuce and peas usually do not cross-pollinate because they are self-pollinating species. Keep in mind that you should always sow one type of vegetable if you don’t have enough space on your plot. If you plant the same vegetable of different varieties at a distance of less than 30 m from each other, then be sure that cross-pollination will occur.
5. Allow the seeds to ripen in the garden as long as possible, but be careful not to let them fall off or be eaten by birds. Then bring the seed plants indoors, hang them or place them in a dry place to ripen. The seeds should easily fall out of the boxes (pods, cobs, etc.).
6. The lightest and affordable way separating seeds - through a homemade wire mesh (sieve). It should have a cell different sizes for different seeds.
7. The problem is storing seeds, since they can be damaged by mold or eaten by mice or insects. Store seeds in a cool, dry place in closed containers with plenty of ventilation. To avoid insects, periodically stir (shake) the seeds in the containers. Inspect carefully, removing damaged and moldy ones.
8. To make sure that the seeds will sprout, test them long before sowing, because if they are of poor quality, you will be able to buy the right amount over the winter. For the test, take about thirty seeds and place them in a flat bowl on filtered paper or cotton wool moistened with water. Do not let the seeds dry out: in this case, the test will have to be repeated with new seeds; but the seeds should not “float” in the water. It is better to close the container with the seeds to prevent evaporation and exposure to bright light. However, this requires access to air, otherwise the seeds may become moldy. Keep them in a warm place. Record the sowing date and germination period, as well as the number of seeds taken. Some, like parsley, take a very long time to germinate. For the germination of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, you need elevated temperature. If the seeds become moldy without producing roots, then this batch is rejected.

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

When is it possible and when is it not?

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

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

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

Fruit requirements

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

• fruits are picked only from strong and well-developed bushes without any signs of disease;
• the fruits are picked only from the first lower branch of the bush. The reason is that the flowers on the lower branches fade early, when bee activity is still low, and there is no risk of getting your own hybrid pollinated;
• 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 collecting material. When overripe, the fermentation process that occurs in the pulp (mushy part of the pulp) of the 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 risk of poisoning with symptoms of dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

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

What you will need

Fence is a simple process and does not require special tools or any devices. To collect you will need:

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

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

Receipt process: normal method

You can collect material for future planting either in the usual way or in a more simplified way. Good quality and high germination can be ensured by the usual harvesting method using fermentation.

Did you know? Breeders from the University of California, as a result of crossing wild Galapagos Islands with local cultivated ones, have developed a new hybrid variety with salted fruits. The peculiarity is that you can water the plant with salty sea water.

A pre-prepared tomato, for easy 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 cameras you can cut it into 4 parts, while others require smaller cuts.

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

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 non-sealed lid and set aside for a while. Depending on climatic conditions, this process different regions may take varying amounts of time between 24 and 48 hours.

Important!In warm or hot conditions, the fermentation process occurs much faster. It is important not to miss the moment of its completion, 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 fermentation has occurred, future planting material must be thoroughly washed. To do this, pour the contents of the container into a sieve and washed with running water. When washing, it is important to separate any remaining pulp.

Drying planting material

After thoroughly washing the seeds, the excess liquid must be allowed to drain by placing the 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 shallow plate (a plastic one will also work); it will be much easier to collect seeds from such a surface.

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

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

Fast and easy way

Some circumstances, such as constrained life conditions or lack of free time, it is not always possible to prepare tomato seeds at home in the usual way. In such cases, you can resort to an easier, faster method. To do this, you only need 3 things: a ripe tomato, a knife and a paper kitchen towel (napkin or plain paper).
The contents extracted from the cut tomato along with the pulp should be spread on a paper towel and set aside to dry for 5–7 days. At the end of drying, each seed must be separated from the towel with your hands and placed in a prepared bag (bag) for storage.

The quality of the harvested material using the quick method 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. Such storage will lead to mold.

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

• Unripe (brown) fruits can be used to collect material. First you need to give them time to ripen indoors 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 glass warm water). Planting material floating on the surface is unsuitable for planting;
• future planting material can be pre-disinfected using

Preparation for the summer resident seed material Growing tomatoes is not only a way to save on the purchase of seedlings or the basis for sowing them. First of all, this is an opportunity to maintain and improve taste properties favorite variety. However, for a positive result, you need to know how to properly collect tomato seeds for seedlings. Then you can be sure of a good harvest vegetable crop in future.

Main purposes of collection

Every year, thousands of summer residents harvest tomato seeds grown on their own plots. The question arises: why all this extra trouble if you can choose any seeds in the store and experiment with them? But is it necessary to risk the harvest if you have a proven variety growing in your garden beds for years?

Experienced summer residents have found that independently collecting tomato seeds for future seedlings has the following advantages:

• Seed material prepared with one's own hand is selected. The seeds turn out to be viable, large, and when planted as seedlings, they sprout together;
• Tomato seedlings grown from their own seeds have strong immunity to many diseases;
• Homemade seeds make it possible to grow productive tomato bushes;
• If you collect tomato seeds with your own hands, you don’t have to worry that your favorite variety won’t be in the store;
• Self-harvesting seed material– a guarantee of quality. Who knows when the seed samples the seller offers you were collected? In addition, there is a high risk that you will get the wrong variety that you thought about.

The process of preparing tomato seeds for future seedlings is simplified by the fact that these are self-pollinating plants. The risk of cross-pollination is minimal. You can collect the seeds and be sure that the tomatoes grown from them will 100% match the properties of your favorite variety. The reasons listed are enough to make sure that collecting seed yourself is not an empty effort.

Procurement time

Before collecting seeds from a tomato, you need to determine optimal timing. If harvesting is done too early, the future seedlings will be too weak. And the tomato harvest will be small. But if you overstay best time for harvesting, then next year your seedlings will be infected: it will hardly be possible to harvest from such plants at all.

The optimal time for harvesting tomato seeds is determined by the time of fruit ripening. It is necessary to prepare seed material neither at the beginning nor at the end of the fruiting period. Calculate the golden mean and start collecting. A table will help you with this, which determines the beginning and end of the fruiting period of a tomato crop depending on the type of variety.

The table shows that seed procurement early tomatoes for seedlings should begin at the end of July or at the beginning of August. For mid-season variety It’s better to postpone the matter until the end of summer. And to collect material for seedlings from late-ripening bushes, you will have to wait until mid-September. But in middle lane In Russia, such varieties are not very popular: tomatoes are affected by late blight.

Which fruits to choose

When preparing planting material yourself, a natural question arises: which tomatoes can you collect seeds from? Will the choice of plants and fruits affect the quality of future seedlings? Yes, such a dependence exists. In order to get healthy tomato seedlings next year, follow these rules when harvesting:

• After planting seedlings in the ground, monitor the growth of the bushes. Mark the strongest and most productive bushes in advance;
• During the fruiting period, inspect the tomatoes on the selected bushes. Which of them best correspond to varietal characteristics? If tomatoes differ in size, shape or color, they should not be collected for harvesting. It is most likely a cross between two different varieties;
• The most valuable seed material is formed in tomatoes growing on the second or third level or on the main stem. Seedlings obtained from it will be resistant to diseases;
• For the preparation, collect largest fruits tomatoes free from defects.

When harvesting tomato seeds, it is advisable to collect only ripened fruits. But if there is a threat of frost, then you can pick tomatoes that have just begun to turn brown. This has almost no effect on the quality of the seedlings. But this is a sure way to preserve the germination of seeds and protect future plants from fungal diseases.

ATTENTION! You cannot collect seeds from hybrid plants. The maximum you can get is low-yielding tomato bushes of unknown varieties.

Is it possible to use rotten tomatoes?

Sometimes it happens that tomatoes begin to rot. Such fruits are no longer suitable for food, and then summer residents decide to collect seeds from them. Is it possible to harvest seeds from rotten tomatoes? Will this affect the quality of future seedlings? Let us understand the issue by delving into botanical knowledge.

From a biological point of view, the tomato pulp surrounding the seeds plays the role of an inhibitor. This is the name for substances that help slow down various processes. IN in this case The tomato pulp does not allow the seeds to germinate ahead of time, otherwise they will die during the first frost. Why, when preparing seed from tomatoes, do you have to remove the pulp, which is an inhibitor?

If you collect seeds from ripe fruits, the inhibitor is still effective. And drying will happen faster than the sprouts have time to germinate: the material, deprived of moisture, is in a waiting period. If you collect tomato seeds for seedlings from rotten fruits, they will sprout before drying is complete. Therefore, the entire rotten tomato crop must be liquidated.

The same applies to fruits affected by late blight. Infected tomatoes cannot be used for harvesting seeds, since they will produce unimportant seedlings. It is better to collect the surviving fruits at the first signs of the disease, and then pull out all the bushes. Till the land antifungal drugs, and burn the tops immediately to prevent late blight next year.

How to assemble correctly

In order to correctly collect the seeds of your favorite tomatoes, follow the following algorithm of actions:

• Cut the fruit. To extract tomato seeds, it is most convenient to cut it crosswise. In this case, it will be easier to collect the material, since the seed partitions will not block access to it;
• Now you should collect the tomato seeds in glass jar and leave them to ferment at normal temperature for three days. This is necessary to destroy the placenta, which will prevent the emergence of seedlings, and to destroy pathogens;
• Within three days, mold forms on the surface of the jar's contents. It needs to be collected and removed;
• Stir the contents of the jar with a spoon. Those seeds that float up - drain them, they are empty. These will not produce seedlings;
• The contents of the jar must be stirred periodically until the seed material stops floating. The remaining seeds are subject to harvesting. They will make the strongest seedlings;
• Next you need to rinse collected seeds tomato in clean running water. You can additionally perform calibration in a saline solution, thereby finally getting rid of empty seed material. Strain the seeds and rinse them in clean or salted water;
• The next step is straining through cheesecloth and drying. The tomato seeds collected in this way are spread evenly on a clean film and dried. After that, bags are sewn from loose fabric or gauze, where the tomato seeds will be placed to dry completely.

Many summer residents who do not know how to collect tomato seeds for seedlings correctly simply dry the extracted seed pulp. But it's not right. Tomato seeds prepared in this way will have poor and unfriendly germination. And the resulting seedlings will have an irregular, curved stem shape due to the placenta not being removed, which prevents the sprout from leaving the box.

How and where to store

The preparation of tomato seeds is completed in early autumn, and they will have to be sown in the spring. Therefore it is necessary to ensure planting material optimal conditions storage This will help maintain good germination and viability. When the collected varietal tomato seeds are completely dry:

• Remove them from the gauze bag;
• Prepare a paper bag;
• Place seed material in it;
• Close the envelope;
• Label the year of harvest and variety of tomatoes;

Place the bags in a dry, dark and cool place. At low air humidity, it is possible to store seed at room temperature.

And the last question that novice gardeners have: in what year should the collected tomato seeds be sown? It is best to do this the next year, but germination will persist for four years. The strongest seeds can remain viable even after 9 years. But only a few plants will sprout.

This is all that new gardeners need to know about harvesting tomato seeds. Having mastered this technique, in the future you will be able not only to grow your favorite variety year after year, but also to work on developing a new one. To do this, you will need to collect tomato seeds from those fruits whose size, color and taste suit you most.

Often, tomato seeds purchased at a garden store do not meet the gardener’s expectations. The stated advertising on the packaging often does not correspond to reality. And even if good seedlings have appeared, not everyone will be able to purchase them annually because of the cost. For these reasons, many gardeners are wondering how to collect tomato seeds at home correctly in order to get strong seedlings and subsequently a good harvest.

Which tomatoes can you collect seeds from?

To properly collect seed at home, you should choose varietal tomatoes. Hybrid varieties, marked F1, do not produce a good harvest with the parental trait. These tomatoes are obtained by crossing different varieties. Therefore, uneven seedlings may result.

Criteria for selecting fruits for collecting seeds at home:

• purchase tomatoes of a certain variety;
• choose adapted varieties for a specific growing location.

If the purchased type of tomatoes is not intended for certain climatic conditions, the harvest will be poor. When choosing such varieties, you should pay attention to the region where the crop grows.

Is it possible to collect seeds from tomato hybrids?

Hybrid tomatoes from which you can collect seed at home: Katya, Tretyakovskie, Blagovest, Azhur, Doll Masha, Primadonna, Polbig and others that do not have the F1 mark.

How to choose a fruit for collecting planting material

Choosing the right fruit will help you harvest greatest number seed material. When performing the procedure for harvesting tomato seeds at home according to the instructions, the germination rate of the vegetable crop increases several times.

Requirements for good tomatoes:

1. Tomatoes are harvested from a bush with properly developed tops without signs of infection or fungi.
2. The fruits are taken from the lowest branch of the bush.
3. Fully ripe tomatoes are harvested. It is very important here to prevent the tomato from overripening, otherwise the tomato may not germinate.

The best time to release seeds from tomatoes

Before you properly collect tomato seeds at home, you should determine the timing. If the harvesting process is started ahead of time, the seedlings may be very weak, which will affect the harvest. Often the time for harvesting is determined by the time of fruit ripening. The procedure should not be approached at the beginning or end of fruiting; it is important to highlight the golden mean and begin the collection process.

Important! If you miss the right moment, then next year the seedlings may be infected by fungi, which will prevent the vegetable crop from developing properly.

Late ripening varieties

Collecting tomato seeds at home from late varieties It is recommended to start in September. The procedure can be carried out throughout the month. You can determine whether tomatoes are early or late by looking at the inscription on back side packages with seeds.

Mid-season varieties

The mid-season species is harvested from mid-August to early September, but not later. If you wait too long, you may end up with weak seedlings.

Early ripening varieties

How to collect tomato seeds at home

To properly harvest tomato seeds at home, no special equipment is required. Every home has everything needed for collection:

• ripe tomatoes;
• tea spoon;
• gauze or sieve;
• paper napkins;
• storage bag (paper).

Stages of harvesting your own tomato seeds:

1. Incision . The tomato is cut in half or into 4 parts. The number of chambers depends on the selected type of vegetable crop, so sometimes it is necessary to cut it into several parts, or even more.
2. Collection of seeds. The juice is stored in a separate container. You can release the seeds from tomatoes with your hands or using a spoon. Use any utensils. It is worth paying attention that there should be enough tomato juice to completely cover the grains.
3. Fermentation. For this process, you will need to cover the container with a lid or polyethylene, but not airtight. Each region requires different fermentation times. Standard – 1-2 days.
4. Completion of the procedure. The end of the process is indicated by the sinking of the grains to the bottom, the appearance of small bubbles and a film on the top of the jar.
5. Rinsing through gauze. After the seeds are removed from the container, they should be rinsed well with water. It is very important to separate the remaining pulp here.
6. Drying the grains for 5-7 days.

A quick way to collect seed

If the gardener does not have time to bother with collecting seed material at home, we recommend using more quick way blanks.

To do this you need:

• ripened tomato;
• sharp knife;
• paper napkin;
• collection bag.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Cut the vegetable into several parts.
2. Spread the contents on a paper napkin.
3. Leave to dry for a week.
4. After drying, separate the seeds with your fingers and place them in prepared bags.

You can watch the video to see how to properly harvest tomato seeds:

Drying and storage rules

After washing, excess moisture needs to be removed. To do this, the seed material is laid out on paper towel. It is worth paying attention that if you collect grains from various tomatoes, you need to label the napkins and bags.

Important! Drying the seeds in direct sunlight will encourage them to germinate.

Also, during drying, you should avoid changes in room temperature and changes in humidity levels.

There are several tips to help you avoid mistakes when collecting tomato seeds at home:

1. To collect seeds at home it is not necessary to use ripe tomatoes, you can take a slightly unripe fruit.
2. To identify low-quality seeds that will not sprout, you should soak them in salt water. To do this, after fermentation, the grains are placed in salted water (1 tbsp. water and 1 tsp. table salt). Seeds that float are unsuitable for planting.
3. To disinfect the collected seedlings, you need to place it in a solution laundry soap(1 tablespoon of soap per glass of water). It is necessary to soak the grains for about 30 minutes. After all procedures, the seedlings are washed with water.
4. You can dry the collected seeds on a laid out toilet paper, and then plant it with her.
5. Sevok is stored better if the humidity level in the room is up to 50% and the temperature is from 2 to 5°C.

Conclusion

Collecting tomato seeds at home is quite simple. By doing everything according to technology, you can avoid common mistakes that can subsequently affect the quality of the harvest. The main nuance remains only the correct choice of the type of tomatoes.

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