What could be easier than collecting vegetable seeds for sowing next year? This is one of the favorite methods. It is only important that these are varietal crops, not hybrids.
Summer residents have learned to collect seeds of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, but they treat pumpkins frivolously.
Anastasia Kovrizhnykh , an expert of the online publication "BelNovosti", an agronomist and landscape designer, told how to collect pumpkin seeds for sowing.
Pumpkin does not require as much attention as heat-loving nightshades. Perhaps that is why gardeners do not attach much importance to the selection of seeds. And in vain.
How to Choose Pumpkin Seeds
1. Seeds are selected only from fully ripened fruits.
2. Pumpkins from which it is planned to save seeds for sowing are removed to a warm room for 10-15 days after harvesting.
You shouldn't keep vegetables in a warm place for too long, otherwise the germination rate of the seeds will decrease, or they will sprout right in the pumpkin.
3. Cut the fruit, remove the seeds, clean and sort, but there is no need to wash them in water.
4. Spread the seeds on paper or clean cloth in one layer and let them dry in the sun or simply in a warm and dry room.
5. You need to select seeds from the part of the fruit that faced the sun during growth and ripening, and those seeds that formed closer to the stalk - they will give the highest yield.
But the seeds that grow in the central part of the pumpkin also germinate well.
6. For sowing, you need to select seeds from the fruits that formed on the main stem and at the beginning of the pumpkin vine.
Among other things, it is important to remember that pumpkins are easily cross-pollinated, so it makes sense to play it safe and buy the variety you like from the producer.
Expert: Anastasia Kovrizhnykh
