Homegrown Seeds. Part 1

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

How annoying it can be when you buy seeds of flowers and vegetables in a decent store, and they sometimes refuse to germinate, then grow flimsy and lopsided, then grow, no one knows what, not at all corresponding to the inscription on a bright and beautiful bag. You will sigh bitterly in such a situation and make a decision: "Now I will grow my seeds."

To grow good quality seeds on your site, you need to know the biology of each crop. Otherwise, you can collect low-quality seeds, or even be left without seeds at all.

Benefits of your own seeds

Firstly, you can get pure-grade seeds by selecting them according to the economic characteristics you need, improving the quality of seeds and fruits from year to year.

Secondly, with long-term selection, new varieties can be developed, becoming the author of a newborn plant.

The structure of flowers of vegetable plants

For a flower to turn into a fruit, the participation of the male and female components is necessary. The female organ of flowers is the "ovary" of the breeder (pistil), in which the ovum is located. For males - pollen formed in the anthers, which are located on the stamens of the flower.

Depending on the structure and location of flowers, plants are divided into three groups: dioecious, monoecious and bisexual.

Dioecious plants (spinach, asparagus) have "unisexual" flowers. Their pistil female flowers grow on some plants, while their male stamen flowers grow on others. We can say that they live in two houses.

Monoecious plants (melon, pumpkin, cucumber) also have "same-sex" flowers. But female and male flowers grow on the same plant, close to each other.

Bisexual plants have flowers, in which both the ovary and the stamens live together, in the same flower house. These plants include most of the vegetables we grow.

Pollination

For a flower to turn into a seed, a meeting of the male and the female is necessary. And here, like people, all kinds of obstacles begin to arise.

Self-pollination

Without much hassle, you can grow the seeds of vegetables such as dill, lettuce, peas, beans, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes. The reason for their simplicity is the ability of these plants to self-pollinate, due to the simultaneous maturation of the ovary and anthers. The ovary does not have to look for "connections on the side", since it is pollinated by its own pollen.

Cross pollination

But in many vegetable crops (beets, carrots, zucchini, cabbage, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkin), the maturation of the ovary and anthers does not coincide in time. For example, in carrots, anthers ripen earlier, and in cabbage - an ovary, while the second participant in a magical action lags behind in development.

In such cases, the plant has to resort to the help of relatives of other varieties. For example, a white cabbage ovary can accept pollen from other plant species of the Cabbage family, up to the ubiquitous colza. It is clear that any monster with not only the properties of white cabbage can grow from such seeds.

From this, one should not conclude that it is impossible to get pure-grade seeds of such plants on your site. It is only necessary to take measures to protect their landings from the invasion of strangers. For this, breeders have come up with different methods of protection.

The easiest way is to track "competitors". Within a radius of 100 to 500 meters from the seed plant, its cultivated or weedy relatives should not grow.

More troublesome is the "spatial isolation" device. For this, gauze chambers are built on the plants, or, after artificial insemination, a protective cap is put on the flower.

F1 hybrids

By purchasing vegetable seeds marked on the bag "Hybrid F1", you will get a good harvest of high-quality fruits, but you will not be able to get seeds from such plants.