Saving tomatoe seed

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

This is for regular salad tomtoes, not paste tomatoes. Pick and wash the very nicest of the tomatoes. Cut in half, not top to bottom, but side to side. This opens the best seed cavities. Squeeze out the seeds and the gel around the seeds into a bowl. The gel contains chemicals to keep the seeds from germinating and has to be removed through fermentation. Pour seeds and gel into a wide mouthed bowl and set aside for about 3 days for fermenting. Stir this mess twice daily. Fermentation speed will do better in a warm area. During all of this it will begin to smell. Do it outside the house!! It will grow a layer of white or gray smelly mold. When you see that the entire bowl is covered with mold,... or it begins to bubble,... you need to stop the fermentation. Add enuff water to double mixture and stir vigorously. The good seeds will drop to the bottom, allowing you to pour off the mold. Let set awhile after stirring, to allow the seeds time to drop. Repeat the stirring and pouring off top until only clean seeds remain. Pour the seeds into a strainer (not a collander)and pat the bottom of strainer with paper towel getting rid of as much moisture as you can. Then dump out onto a glass or ceramic dish (I use a glass pie dish)and let the seeds dry. Stir lightly twice a day to separate seeds. Do not dry in direct sunlight and if its too humid, use a fan....carefully...LOL. Depending on variety, the seeds will remain viable for 4 to 10 years. Sore in a sealed container in dark, cool place. Can be frozen. For paste tomaotes throw the 'mater in the blender with water and whizz it up. Then let seeds settle and pour off the rest as above.

Got basil and olive oil to go with the 'maters?

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), June 03, 1999

Answers

Thanks for the info Taz. I've wondered how to harvest tomatoe seeds. Btw, my basil crop is going great guns this summer, and I've put back lots of olive oil.

-- Cary Mc from Tx (Caretha@compuserve.com), June 03, 1999.

If you have ever had tomato plants pop up in your compost pile come spring you know they are pretty darn hard to kill...know they go thru water treatment plants unharmed as up in MI farmers used to use that sewage sludge and always had tomatoes growing in their fields. So our method is the lazy one..plop some really ripe tomatoes of choice in a big ole pot and leave in a sheltered place...ours were in an unheated greenhouse. In the spring we had plenty of volunteer seedlings. We just do this with our generic canning tomatoes. Taz's way is best if you want to save special varieties to share...although plenty of my easy-way no-name tomato plants have been grown by friends at work and in our neighborhood. We always say we are going to save seeds but this year we are going to make this a priority even though we have stashed alot of pkts. away.Love your informative postings,Taz.

-- MUTTI (windance @train.missouri.org), June 03, 1999.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ