All summer residents know that it is impossible to collect seeds from F1 hybrids - a strong split of characteristics occurs in the offspring, and the “children” do not resemble their “parents”. But many are sure that seeds can be collected from varieties. And in fact, their offspring completely retain all the features of their ancestors. This is how the breeders intended it.
However, few people take into account that most vegetables are cross-pollinated plants. What does it mean? And the fact that for fertilization they need to exchange pollen with their neighbors. If the neighbors are of the same variety, there will be no problems, all offspring will retain their characteristics. But if there are other varieties nearby, you will end up with a “vinaigrette”; what will grow from the seeds is not at all what you wanted.
Seed companies use spatial isolation to maintain purity of traits - different varieties are planted from each other at a distance of at least... 1 km! It is clear that on 6 acres there is no such possibility. So what should I do? It turns out that you can collect your seeds even in a limited space.
Guaranteed crops
There are also vegetables that do without outside help - they pollinate themselves. But there are few of them.
Peas, beans and soybeans. They are strict self-pollinators, so seeds from beans of these crops can be safely collected. Even if different varieties grow nearby.
Tomatoes. Most summer residents grow several varieties of tomatoes on their plot. Many people collect their seeds year after year and there are no problems with cross-pollination. Which is logical - tomatoes most often pollinate themselves. But! Few people know that in hot, dry weather they can become “crossbreeders.” And then new characteristics may appear in the offspring.
However, this happens extremely rarely and no more than 5% of flowers are cross-pollinated. Therefore, you can safely collect seeds from tomatoes - the main thing is to choose fruits that are typical in shape and color. And from the lowest tassels - they are usually tied before the heat sets in. But if suddenly next year you end up with atypical plants in your garden bed, just harvest them and eat them. And leave the “classics” for the seeds.
Peppers and eggplants. Typically, these vegetables pollinate themselves. They are sown early for seedlings and often the bushes go to the dacha already with small fruits. But there were no insects at home. But when the plants get into the beds, bumblebees and bees begin to visit them - well, they love peppers and eggplants! And at this moment, varieties very often cross-pollinate with each other. Everyone knows that you can’t plant hot and sweet peppers next to each other, because in the end they will all become hot. This is precisely “thanks to” insects.
But the problem is very easy to avoid if during flowering you cover the plants with non-fabric so that bees and bumblebees do not have access to them. Each variety is under its own “blanket”.
Beans. The same thing happens to them as with peppers and eggplants - they produce excellent crops when self-pollinating, but insects love them. That is, during flowering they should be covered with the same nektanka.
However, you can do without it, since vegetable beans are a rather rare crop, they are unlikely to grow among neighbors, and summer residents usually sow one variety in their beds. In this case, they simply will have no one to exchange genes with. But if you sow different varieties nearby, then you need shelter.
"Windy" vegetables
They produce seeds only after cross-pollination. And they are pollinated by the wind.
Beet. This vegetable produces seeds only in the second year. The first time it forms a root crop, which must be dug up in the fall and placed in a cellar or refrigerator for the winter. Just keep in mind that you need to trim the tops so that the buds are preserved - there is no need to cut off the top! In the spring, beets are planted in the garden; in the summer they will bloom and then produce seeds.
In principle, you don’t have to bother with insulation here. Yes, different varieties of beets cross-pollinate with each other, but it’s unlikely that anyone in neighboring dachas grows beets for seeds - very few people do that anymore. And housewives usually grow one, favorite variety. And if you want to collect your seeds from different beets, then just do it in different years. For example, in this one they planted Bordeaux, in the next - Cylinder. This root crop produces a lot of seeds, and their germination capacity lasts 3–4 years.
Spinach. It, like beets, is pollinated by the wind, but produces seeds in the first year. And with it, too, everything is simple - the crop is rare, it has few varieties, so cross-pollination is unlikely to occur. And if it does happen, believe me, you still won’t see much difference between the Ispolinsky and, for example, Zhironolistny varieties. Greens are greens.
Corn. It will be more difficult with her. This crop can be found in gardens more and more often - we love boiled cobs. And it is also pollinated by the wind. If there are different varieties on the site with classic yellow grains, or the neighbors grow them, then cross-pollination is not a problem - you won’t notice a big difference. But if someone nearby or you, in addition to traditional varieties, have exotic varieties: with black, white, green or multi-colored cobs, then the offspring will have unpredictable variants.
It is difficult to cover the corn with anything - it is very tall. But here you can use another trick - use any building as an obstacle: a house, a bathhouse, a barn. Even if there is a strong gust of wind, the bulk of pollen from one variety will settle on the facade of the building and will not pollinate the other.
Bee favorites
Pumpkins, zucchini, squash, watermelons, melons, cucumbers. They cross-pollinate with terrible force! And not only among themselves, but also with each other. And the culprits are bees and bumblebees. In fact, without them there would be no harvest. But “thanks to” them, it is impossible to collect seeds from these crops when grown freely - there will be a strong splitting of traits in the offspring.
The advice is to breed them year by year, like beets, in this case it will not work. These crops are very popular, they grow in all gardens, and several varieties at once. Hiding them under non-fabric will also not work - pumpkins, for example, grow 5 m in diameter. In addition, pollinating insects will not penetrate under the shelter, and without them the fruits will not set.
What about the seeds? There is only one way out - pollinate by hand. This is not an easy task, but quite accessible to the average summer resident. Its essence is this: a bud that has not yet opened, but is about to bloom, must be carefully opened by force - the petals are easily torn by hand. Then with a brush or cotton swab pass over the stamens to collect pollen, then use the same brush-stick to anoint the stigma of the pistil. It is impossible to confuse anything there; all the flower organs are very large. And after pollination, you need to put a cap made of gauze or non-fabric over the flower so that the bees do not work after you. Open flowers are not suitable for hand pollination: believe me, insects wake up much earlier than us and they have already worked there.
There is no need to be afraid of manual fertilization, since the task, although troublesome, is not expensive. It is enough to pollinate 2-3 flowers on one plant and remove all the rest. These vegetables produce a lot of seeds, their germination lasts 6–8 years, so you can tinker once.
Cabbage. Collecting seeds from it is very difficult. Firstly, they are formed only in the second year. That is, you need to grow a head of cabbage, put it in a cellar or refrigerator for the winter, and the stalk must be long. And in the spring, the head of cabbage will need to be planted in the garden. In summer it will bloom and produce seeds.
But since cabbage is pollinated by insects, only one type and variety can be grown for seeds. The fact is that different white, red, Savoy and Brussels sprouts easily interbreed. So plant one thing per season - cabbage seeds last 4-5 years.
Carrot. Just like beets and cabbage, they produce seeds in the second year. It is pollinated by bees, so to obtain seeds you only need to grow one variety per season.
Radish and radish. These crops are pollinated exclusively by bees - they cannot fertilize themselves. There is no point in covering them - the seeds will not set. It won't be possible to pollinate by hand either - the flowers are very small. There is only one way out - to leave only one variety for seeds. Moreover, either a radish or a radish - they also cross-pollinate with each other. And provided that neighbors do not grow these root crops for seeds, the minimum distance between varieties should be 400 m.
Onion. All types of onions are pollinated by insects - bees or flies. They do not cross-pollinate with each other, so if you have a slime bush and a chives bush growing, you can safely collect seeds from them.
But different varieties of onions cross-pollinate easily. Therefore, they must be bred either year by year, or pollinated by hand with a brush made from small bird feathers 8–12 cm long, or with a piece of dense material. But before this, the inflorescence heads, while they still have buds, must be isolated from insects - caps made of dense material must be put on them. When the flowers bloom, carefully trace the inflorescences with a brush, moving from plant to plant. To pollinate with cloth, take a piece of cloth by its two upper ends so that the lower edge touches the inflorescences, and carefully carry it over all the plants. Since flowers in inflorescences do not open at the same time, pollination is repeated three to four times every two to three days.
Spicy herbs - dill, parsley, cilantro and others. Everything is simple here - they cross-pollinate with each other, but the differences in varieties, as a rule, are so minimal that you won’t see much of a difference.
The only spice that cannot be left for seed when there are different varieties is basil. The differences in varieties are very obvious. And if you want to get your own seeds, grow one variety per season.
Special potatoes
You can often hear from summer residents that their potatoes have been pollinated - they say, before the tubers were different, they planted several varieties, but now they are all similar. In fact, this is impossible - pollination occurs in flowers and its result will only be noticeable if you have collected and sowed the seeds from the berries. But we propagate potatoes exclusively by tubers, so cross-pollination is not a problem for them.
How to pollinate zucchini by hand? In some cases, when there are no natural pollinators, you have to pollinate the zucchini yourself. Sometimes this needs to be done in open soil conditions to increase yields. The best time to carry out such a procedure manually is considered to be the morning period from 9 to 11 o'clock. It is better to choose a day with dry weather, as high humidity leads to pollen clumping. We pollinate zucchini correctly In mid-August, you can often observe how the fruit ovaries of zucchini, which are characterized by late ripening, begin to rot. This is due to frequent rain and the influence of cold dew that occurs at night. During this period, bees are no longer so active. Flowers remain without pollination on days with no wind. As a result, new ovaries do not appear on the grass bushes. But under favorable weather conditions, you can restore the growing season and prolong the formation of fruits manually. In zucchini, it is customary to distinguish between male and female flowers. The former are distinguished by long pedicels on which there are thorns, the latter by short pedicels with a smooth ovary under the flower. If you look closely, you can find crumbly pollen of a bright yellow hue in male flowers, and stigma in female flowers. It is necessary to pick a male bud that has just opened, carefully remove the petals and leave only the stamens with pollen. The latter must be transferred on the stigma female flower, rubbing its central part with the remaining stamen. If the weather is good during the day, then as a result of such an action, new fruits are guaranteed to appear in the future. Additional features of zucchini pollination When the ovary falls, it is also recommended to carry out self-pollination. Sometimes you have to deal with the absence of male flowers on a plant. This somewhat complicates the process of manual pollination of zucchini, but does not make it impossible. In this case, you can pick similar male buds from plants such as pumpkin, cucumber or squash. In this case, seeds will not form, but it will be possible to grow seedless fruits (parthenocarpic). The fruits are collected 8-10 days after the flowering process, when their length becomes from 10 to 15 cm. The ovary must be cut off together with the stalk using a knife. In addition, there are some ways to improve pollination. So, it is periodically recommended to move apart the leaves of zucchini to create Better conditions for access of pollinating insects to flowers. To attract bees and wasps, a solution of honey in water (2-3 spoons per glass) is also often used, which is sprayed on the plant in the morning. If you don’t have honey, you can use regular sugar to prepare such a solution. As you can see, the process of manual pollination does not require any difficulties and is used when you have to deal with gloomy rainy seasons, during which insects cannot pollinate the plant sufficiently.
Zucchini is usually grown in garden beds. This type of vegetable is calm tolerates slight temperature changes, over the summer, zucchini ripens successfully. But greenhouse cultivation has a number of additional advantages:
- shortening the growing season. The fruits ripen faster and the yield increases. Can be easily collected in a greenhouse 30 zucchini per 1 sq. m;
- there are hybrids that are especially heat-demanding, created specifically for indoor soil;
- zucchini grown in a greenhouse has a very tender and delicate taste;
- early zucchini is in great demand and is suitable for industrial cultivation;
- zucchini in the greenhouse are not affected and get sick less;
- Zucchini is undemanding to soil composition and temperature; growing it indoors is inexpensive.
Variety selection
In the limited space of greenhouses it is better to grow compact bush hybrids. They take up less space, but are distinguished by good yield and high taste of the fruit.
For indoor soil, early ripening varieties are chosen; they can be planted throughout the year, with uninterrupted harvesting. Perfect option for greenhouses – F1 hybrids, specially cultivated for indoor soil.
It is better to choose plants without thorny growths on the petioles; they are easier and more convenient to collect. For sale, small-fruited varieties with fruits of light or medium-saturated color are preferred. Several dozen varieties and hybrids have been created for indoor soil.
White-fruited– the variety is suitable for both protected and open ground, but in a greenhouse the yield is significantly higher. Bush variety, compact, not forming long vines. Large greenish-white fruits with moderately dense creamy pulp have a delicate, not watery taste.
Kuand– an early ripening hybrid, suitable for glazed or film greenhouses. Very productive, small, beautiful fruits suitable for canning. The taste is delicate and uniform, the flesh is elastic and juicy.
Cavili– early ripening productive hybrid. The fruits are beautiful, smooth, with soft, uniform pulp. The taste is very delicate, without bitterness. Zucchini is suitable for salads, stews, soups and canning.
Belogor– a productive early ripening hybrid. The fruits are moderately large, with dense, pleasant-tasting pulp. Suitable for canning, but also tasty fresh.
Nemchinovsky– a compact variety that does not form long vines. It has high productivity. IN open ground the plant can be affected by powdery mildew, but in the greenhouse it practically does not get sick. The fruits are large, juicy, with greenish-white tender pulp.
Greenhouse requirements
Zucchini is undemanding to living conditions. They grow well not only in expensive greenhouses, but also in simple ones. The height of the greenhouse is not important, however, for ease of caring for plants, you need to make a fairly wide passage between the ridges.
A greenhouse for zucchini can be small, up to 50 square meters. m. Such space will ensure a good harvest. If you plan to grow zucchini in winter, you need to build a greenhouse on a foundation, covering wooden or metal frames with glass or polycarbonate.
A greenhouse is necessary equip with windows for ventilation And . You can warm up the greenhouse using an electric boiler or wood-burning stoves; for greenhouses covered with plastic, household heaters are suitable. Expensive greenhouses are equipped with an automatic drip irrigation and climate control system.
The ideal way to heat greenhouses is biofuel. This economical option is especially loved by zucchini because it warms not so much the air as the plant roots.
To prepare fuel, rotted pig, goat or cow manure is mixed with straw in equal proportions, piled up, sprinkled well with water and leave it under film for several days.
Then the top layer of soil is removed from the greenhouse, biofuel is evenly distributed and covered with a layer of nutrient substrate. Such a pillow not only warms the plants, but also serves as additional feeding during active growth. The carbon dioxide released contributes to the rapid ripening of fruits and their improvement taste qualities.
Secrets of cultivation
How to grow zucchini in a greenhouse? Growing zucchini in a greenhouse is accessible not only to experienced, but also to beginning gardeners. This crop prefers light, well-loosened soil, neutral or slightly alkaline. For more nutritional value in the soil you can add compost and ash.
Instead of organic matter, you can apply complex mineral fertilizers, mainly superphosphate. Zucchini reacts negatively to preparations containing chlorine. Fertilizing is applied every 2 weeks simultaneously with watering and loosening. Before fertilizing, all weeds must be removed.
Zucchini more convenient to grow seedlings. Seeds are sown in peat pots, this makes it possible to preserve the fragile root system when replanting. Seedlings that have reached the age of 20-25 days are moved to a greenhouse to a permanent place.
The distance between plants is from 70 to 80 cm. Zucchini in film greenhouses planted in early May or a little earlier. When planting early, it is necessary to preheat the soil using stoves or electric boilers.
Mulching will help maintain normal moisture levels and speed up ripening. After planting, the soil is covered with a film in which holes are made for the plants. Watering is carried out into these holes. Mulching with sawdust is possible, sunflower husks and other materials. Covering the soil provides the squash with much-needed warmth.
Plants do not like greenhouses that are too hot and humid. The optimal temperature for successful fruit ripening is 24 degrees during the day and 18 degrees at night. Humidity is maintained at 60-70%. As the temperature increases, the plants may shed their ovaries; with extreme cold, the growth of zucchini slows down. You need to water the bushes once every 5-7 days, preferably soft water at room temperature.
Daily the greenhouse needs to be ventilated. In warm spring and summer days Zucchini should spend most of its time outdoors, this speeds up ripening and attracts insects for pollination. For additional attraction, plants are sprayed with sugar syrup dissolved in water. You can also pollinate zucchini manually using a cotton swab.
For better ventilation and maximum light access from plants remove the lower leaves. In this case, no less than 15 formed leaves should remain on the bush. This procedure is necessary for thickened plantings.
Harvesting
Harvesting should begin when the first fruits reach the desired size. Don't wait until they become too large. Small zucchini have a more delicate taste, their skin is soft and glossy. Watering stops 7 days before cutting.. This technique allows you to make the taste of the fruit more rich and not watery.
During active fruiting, zucchini is harvested every other day. Harvest very carefully, trying not to injure the tops of the bushes and the resulting lashes. Damaged plants do not recover well and may stop forming new ovaries.
When harvesting fruits, it is important to remove not only beautiful and full-fledged fruits, but also ugly, improperly formed fruits. Overgrown zucchini left on the branches will delay the development of new ovaries and reduce the yield of each bush. Care must be taken when cleaning, the skin of young fruits is susceptible to damage and scratches. Injured zucchini is stored worse and quickly loses its presentation.
Growing zucchini can be the beginning of a promising one. Early spring and In winter, the premium on fruits increases significantly, demand also increases. Find out what else is possible on our website.
Starting with one small greenhouse, you can gradually increase the number of plantings, experimenting with varieties and achieving maximum yields.
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In some cases, when there are no natural pollinators, you have to pollinate the zucchini yourself. Sometimes this needs to be done in open soil conditions to increase yield. The best time to carry out such a procedure manually is considered to be the morning period from 9 to 11 o'clock. It is better to choose a day with dry weather, as high humidity leads to pollen clumping.
Properly pollinating zucchini
In mid-August, you can often observe how the fruit ovaries of zucchini, which are characterized by late ripening, begin to rot. This is due to frequent rain and the influence of cold dew that occurs at night. During this period, bees are no longer so active. Flowers remain without pollination on days with no wind. As a result, new ovaries do not appear on the grass bushes. But under favorable weather conditions, you can restore the growing season and prolong the formation of fruits manually.
In zucchini, it is customary to distinguish between male and female flowers. The former are distinguished by long pedicels on which there are thorns, the latter by short pedicels with a smooth ovary under the flower. If you look closely, you can find crumbly pollen of a bright yellow hue in male flowers, and stigma in female flowers. It is necessary to pick a male bud that has just opened, carefully remove the petals and leave only the stamens with pollen. The latter must be transferred to the stigma of the female flower, rubbing its central part with the remaining stamen. If the weather is good during the day, then as a result of such an action, new fruits are guaranteed to appear in the future.
Additional features of zucchini pollination
When the ovary falls off, it is also recommended to carry out self-pollination. Sometimes you have to deal with the absence of male flowers on a plant. This somewhat complicates the process of manual pollination of zucchini, but does not make it impossible. In this case, you can pick similar male buds from plants such as pumpkin, cucumber or squash. In this case, seeds will not form, but it will be possible to grow seedless fruits (parthenocarpic). The fruits are collected 8-10 days after the flowering process, when their length becomes from 10 to 15 cm. The ovary must be cut off together with the stalk using a knife.
In addition, there are some ways to improve pollination. Thus, it is periodically recommended to move the leaves of zucchini apart to create better conditions for pollinating insects to access the flowers. To attract bees and wasps, a solution of honey in water (2-3 spoons per glass) is also often used, which is sprayed on the plant in the morning. If you don’t have honey, you can use regular sugar to prepare such a solution.
As you can see, the process of manual pollination does not require any difficulties and is used when you have to deal with gloomy rainy seasons, during which insects cannot pollinate the plant sufficiently.
To grow zucchini on your own loggia you do not need a lot of space or special equipment.
Home garden on the windowsill or loggias city apartments have long become an excellent alternative to weekly trips on dacha, especially in modern conditions of a catastrophic lack of free time.
Given the limited space on window sills and balconies, it is necessary to approach the selection of crops for cultivation as carefully as possible. The most common vegetables for home cultivation are cucumbers, tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, radishes, and carrots. You can find it much less often in home garden beds. zucchini. Let's talk about how to grow zucchini on the windowsill.
Why zucchini?
Zucchini is a real storehouse of useful elements and minerals. They are rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper, and also contain vitamins: A1, B1, B2, C, PP.
The undoubted benefit of zucchini is its low calorie content. There are only 24 calories per 100 grams of this vegetable. It is this parameter that makes zucchini one of the favorite foods of nutritionists. This vegetable, which has virtually no taste of its own, has a beneficial effect on digestion and supports healthy skin.
The high potassium content helps normalize the body's water balance and helps get rid of excess fluid. A mild diuretic and choleretic effect allows you to remove toxic substances from the body.
What should you consider when growing zucchini at home?
Variety selection. The first thing you need to do is decide on the variety. For growing zucchini at home best fit compact early ripening varieties. Also, when making a choice, you need to take into account the time of year and the direction of the world on which the loggia or window on which the zucchini will be located faces. If cultivation occurs in the autumn-winter period, and the windows face north, then preference should be given to varieties that are characterized by maximum resistance to temperature changes and various stresses.
Plant placement. For For zucchini, you need fairly deep containers or boxes 15-25 centimeters high. There must be 5 centimeters of drainage at the bottom of the box. A tray is placed under it for excess liquid.
In summer, for full growth, zucchini have enough sunlight However, in winter and autumn, fluorescent lamps or special phyto-lamps for seedlings may be needed. Before planting zucchini or any other crops at home, you need to carefully consider the cost of this equipment. If the balcony faces strictly south, then you should think about protecting vegetables from direct sunlight. To avoid burns to the leaves and fruits, cover the zucchini with gauze.
Soil selection. In vegetable gardens, zucchini in most cases grows on peat, compost, and is fertilized with manure. However, taking soil from gardens for home cultivation is not recommended. The best option For these purposes, there will be a special soil for seedlings.
Planting and caring for zucchini on the windowsill
So, the seeds of the required varieties have been purchased, and the boxes with prepared soil have been prepared. All that remains is to plant the zucchini correctly and with proper care, the harvest will not keep you waiting longer than necessary.
To begin with, the seeds must be wrapped in damp gauze for a couple of days to form roots. If after two days the root has not hatched, then, most likely, such a seed will not sprout.
The previously prepared soil must be well watered with water at room temperature.
Next, the sprouted seeds are planted in the ground to a depth of 3 centimeters with the root down. After a week, fertilizer should be applied to the seedlings. As they grow, the soil around the sprouts needs to be loosened. Regular watering is also required.
In order for the fruit to set, zucchini needs pollination. In open ground, bees and wasps cope excellently with this task. However, in the city, especially on high floors, problems with natural pollination may arise. In this case, zucchini must be pollinated artificially by rubbing the male flower of the plant against the female one. If, however, the windows are located no higher than the fifth floor, and the seedlings are on a balcony or loggia with open windows, then you can spray the zucchini with a solution of sugar or honey. The sweetness will attract bees and other pollinators.
To grow zucchini on your own loggia you do not need a lot of space or special equipment. It is enough just to devote a little of your time and attention to the process.
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