How to collect radish seeds at home: step-by-step instructions and helpful tips
How wonderful it is to crunch fresh garden radishes after a long cold winter! But sometimes it happens that from the seeds purchased, not the roots grow at all, which the photo on the colorful packaging promises. In order not to experience disappointment, grow the seeds of your favorite varieties yourself.
It is not difficult to do this, knowing the rules and secrets, which we will tell you about in the article.
The content of the article
How to properly grow radishes for seeds
Radish is an annual or biennial plant in the cabbage family. Annual varieties are more common.
After full maturation of the root, a branched flowering shoot develops from the leaf rosette, reaching a height of 25-100 cm. Small, white flowers with a pinkish or purple tint appear 50-70 days after sowing the seeds, flowering lasts 30-35 days. In place of flowers, pods up to 7 cm long are formed, containing about a dozen light brown rounded grains.
Important! Radish is a cross-pollinated plant. To obtain seed material with characteristic varietal properties, the root crop must be planted away from other cabbage, especially radish.
Spatial isolation should be at least 200 m. If the size of the site does not allow such a distance, the beds with plants are surrounded by tall crops.
Radish for seeds is grown in two ways: direct and transplant. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages.
Non-stop way
The advantage of the method is its simplicity. The radish is left in the place where the seeds were sown. During the fruiting period, the plant throws out flower-bearing stems on which seeds are formed.
The non-stop method is rarely used due to disadvantages:
- long ripening of seeds (up to 5 months);
- the risk of cross-pollination with other varieties;
- it is impossible to carry out a qualitative selection of mother plants.
It is interesting:
Review of the best varieties of radish for open ground and greenhouses.
What vitamins are in radishes and how are they useful for health.
Transfer method
A slight inconvenience of the transplant method is its laboriousness. Ripe root crops are dug up, the strongest, even ones that fit the description of the variety are selected. After this, the foliage is cut off, leaving cuttings about 3 cm long. The root is shortened to 4 cm and planted in a previously prepared place. The distance between the plants is at least 40 cm. When planting, it is not allowed to sprinkle the deciduous rosette with earth.
Attention! The selection and transplantation of root crops is carried out on the same day, otherwise the plants will dry out.
Advantages of the technique:
- accelerated seed ripening (up to 120 days);
- selection of the best mother plants;
- the ability to isolate bushes from other varieties.
Care features
Seed radishes are weeded and watered regularly. Plants are periodically examined for pests: aphids, cruciferous fleas and others. If necessary, they are treated with insecticides, depending on the type of pest.
As they grow, the peduncles are tied to pegs.
Suitable varieties
Any varieties you like are suitable for collecting seeds. To obtain seed at home, pure-bred plants are used, the distinctive features of which are genetically fixed.
Seeds are not harvested from hybrids.The offspring obtained from hybrid radish will be heterogeneous, splitting according to characteristics will occur and it will not be possible to get a predictable result.
The timing of the collection of planting material
The seeds are fully ready 65-70 days after the radish bloom. Depending on the date and method of planting, the collection of seed begins at the beginning or at the end of September. The ripeness criterion is a change in the color of the pods from green to light yellow or light brown.
Shoots with pods are cut, tied into a bunch and dried for about two weeks in a dry, well-ventilated room (attic, shed, glazed balcony or loggia).
How to collect radish seeds at home
Well-dried and suitable for further processing, the pods crumble easily if you pick them up and crumple them.
Step by step instructions for retrieving seeds
It is not difficult to extract seeds from fruits:
- Separate the pods from the stems with a pruner.
- In a suitable container, crush the pods and remnants of small stems so that all the fruits open and the seeds spill out.
- Pour the resulting mass for 10-15 minutes with water. Pulp, small stems, empty seeds will float. Good quality seed will remain at the bottom of the container.
- Dispose of the rubbish on the compost heap. Rinse the remaining grains with water 2-3 times and sprinkle in an even layer on a plate to dry.
The average yield of seeds per plant is 20 g (or about 5 standard purchased bags).
Seed treatment
After drying the rest of the pods, small debris is removed with a fan. The procedure is best done outdoors or in a barn. For final cleaning of the seeds, spread a cloth and sprinkle the material through a stream of air. Dry plant residues will fly away, full-weight seeds will fall on the fabric.
After air cleaning, the planting material can be calibrated by choosing large, similar-sized seeds.
Where and how to store
The cleaned and sorted grains are placed in a paper bag, cloth or canvas bag. The main thing is that the material must be breathable.
Attention! Do not put the seeds in the container too tightly, leave enough free space.
The packages are signed with the name of the variety and the date of collection. Store the seed in a dark, cool and dry place. Radish remains viable for up to 7 years.
Useful Tips
A few tips from experienced gardeners will come in handy for successfully producing homemade radish seeds.
- Before transplanting, it is useful to dip the root crops of the selected mother plants in a mash made from cow dung and clay in a 1: 1 ratio with the addition of water to a creamy consistency. This measure protects the plants from drying out and stimulates the germination of new roots.
- At the beginning of the ripening of the pods, the plot with seed plants is covered with a non-woven material to protect it from being eaten by birds.
Read also:
The benefits and harms of radishes for the human body.
Top 8 best pickled radish recipes for the winter.
Harvesting radishes for the winter: simple and delicious recipes for healthy snacks.
Conclusion
There are no difficulties in growing homemade radish seeds of favorite varieties. After the roots mature, the plant releases flowering shoots, on which pod fruits with seeds are formed.
Knowing the features of obtaining seed material and adhering to simple rules, you can easily get pods with grains. This will eliminate unwanted surprises on subsequent landings. With proper collection and storage, the loss of germination of radish seeds occurs no earlier than after 7 years.