Each spring season for gardeners begins with planting tomato seedlings. Almost every experienced vegetable grower has his favorite varieties of tomatoes. A huge number of varietal and hybrid seeds can be purchased in specialized stores. But what is the guarantee of successful germination and a good harvest from such material? A huge number of producers and a lot of competition lead to the fact that the seed is sold of poor quality. And then your labors will be spent in vain. I will tell you how to stock up tomato seeds yourself by choosing the variety you need.
The benefits of harvesting tomato seeds with your own hands
The advantages of our seeds are, first of all, their reliable quality. If you prepare the planting material yourself, then in the future you will receive:
- the desired variety of tomatoes;
- fresh seeds;
- healthy and strong seedlings.
The main stages of procurement
Having chosen a moderately ripe vegetable, you can proceed to the procedure. The process itself will include several stages:
- Training.
- Grain extraction.
- Soaking seeds.
- Seed separation.
- Drying and preparation for storage.
- Seed storage.
Training
Use clean utensils and a sharp knife as tools. Pre-wash your chosen tomato fruits. It is necessary to take only varietal crops, excluding the use of hybrid species. In addition to the knife, you will need a saucer, a teaspoon and a glass container with clean water.
Extraction of grains
Cut a ripe tomato lengthwise into several pieces. Do not take an overripe vegetable. Next, carefully remove the tomato pulp along with the seeds on the saucer. You will get a thick mass of pulp and seeds. Try not to put too much pressure on the seeds, so as not to break their protective shell.
Soak
I always advise soaking seeds with tomato pulp in water. If you decide to skip this step, you can also get quality planting material. However, by drying the seeds along with the pulp, you run the risk of damaging the skin when separating the seeds from the tissue. For soaking, it is necessary to transfer the tomato mass with grains to a glass container with a small amount of water. We keep the container at room temperature for fermentation for 1-2 days. In water, the grains can painlessly get rid of the protective shells, which will allow them to germinate faster in the future. Do not use metal utensils to avoid an oxidative reaction.
Straining
Rinse the fermented grains again with clean water and discard on a fine sieve. Excess moisture will drain, and the seeds will remain.
Drying and storage
Strained grains must be dried. Use paper towels or gauze as bedding. Completely dried seeds are easily separated from the base. So it's time to put them away.
How to store
For successful storage of tomato seeds, I advise you to follow some rules:
- use paper envelopes or cloth bags;
- label the seeds so you know what year they are and what kind of variety it is;
- store grains in a cool shady place;
- do not use plastic bags, seeds can rot or go rancid in them.
As you can see, it is not difficult to prepare planting material for growing tomatoes on your own. Stored grains can be used for 3-5 years. But I still advise you to make new blanks every year.
Do you harvest your own seeds?
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