Saving Heirloom Tomato Seeds

Learn how easy it is to eat your tomatoes and save them too!

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“ Why do grocery store store tomatoes taste like golosh balls ? ” a visitant to our Fourth Annual Tomato Tasting event inquire .

Today , tomatoes travel far and farther to get to our plate . And all this traveling means hybrid tomato are being engender for trait like storage and disease electrical resistance at the expense of preference , colour , and texture .

But then there ’s that other question : “ Do heirlooms really taste better ? ”

At the Tomato Tasting , attend by an approximate 1000 people on Labor Day weekend , we stress to get at the marrow of this question the good elbow room we know how : “ Here , taste an heirloom love apple . In fact , savor 35 . ”

And as with most questions in life , there were many answer :

“ Hard to believe these are all tomato . ”

“ I ca n’t think how many different nip there are . ”

“ These tomatoes really are better . ”

“ crude ! ”

So perhaps not all heirloom taste intimately , but with so many to choose from you ’re sure to find one that ’s veracious for you and your brood . ( It just so happens that Velvet Red won “ crowd favorite ” by a landslip . ) And once you find that perfect tomato , you only have to buy it once . That ’s because heirloom tomatoes are a great way for home gardeners to get started saving seed .

In nature , right tomato return from the plant and slowly rot , scupper the seed and allowing natural weathering to break down the slimy gelatinous coating on the seeds . This is well replicate through the process of zymosis . To bring through tomato seeds , seed savers must deliberately remove the coating from them .

Here ’s how :

1 . Take the come out of your best - looking tomatoes , and put them into any container that can hold melted . Do n’t care if there is pulp with the seed . Keep as much succus with the seed as possible .

2 . Some ejaculate - save technique suggest adding water to the mixture . We commend not adding water unless the mixture evaporates before it start fermenting . This can be done by adding about ½ cupful of nonchlorinated water to 1 loving cup of tomato seed and mush .

3 . Fermentation should happen in 24 minute to four days . This depends on many variables , such as air temperature or how ripe the fruit is . A level of white mould may grow across the top . Once this admixture has fermented , go on to the next footstep so that seeds do not burgeon forth .

4 . imagine about where to put the Lycopersicon esculentum seminal fluid mixture , because ineluctably it will smell . You may want to cover your mix with a mesh concealment to keep out fruit rainfly .

5 . After zymolysis , lend water and stir . Mature seeds will sink to the bottom . If a germ is light enough to float , it is in all likelihood not fully form , fledged , or viable . Do n’t save these seeds .

6 . stream off the pulpy mixture but not the viable semen in the bottom of your container .

7 . rain buckets the stay on liquid into a kitchen strainer , and wash thoroughly under the faucet until the seeds are sportsmanlike .

8 . Drain , and then overspread the seeded player out thinly on a surface to dry out . Any substratum to help oneself them dry as quickly as potential will figure out : coffee filter , newspaper plates , paper towel , or wax newspaper . It is best to dry seeds out of direct sunlight ; this can take up to four week .

Seed Savers Exchange Fourth Annual Tomato Tasting event

9 . Store the seeds in an envelope or seed packet boat , and place it in a dry , cool location . you’re able to assess the quality of your storage condition by adding the room temperature in Fahrenheit plus relative humidness . test to keep that numeral under 100 ; the lower the number , the better the conditions for seminal fluid storage .

But do n’t forget to follow the most of import pattern : Put a label on everything , every step of the fashion . In the word of our compendium curator , “ No one want to plant something , thinking they have one variety and stop up with something else . ”

So save seeds from your favored tomatoes , plant them out next spring , and help put an ending to rubber ball syndrome , one tomato at a time .

Note from a seed rescuer : Tomatoes will most unremarkably ego - pollinate , so cum saved will remain “ true to type ” without jeopardy of hybridization - pollenation . However , there are always exception . Some tomato can cut through - pollinate ; this is dependent on many factors , such as flower shape , environment , and biodiversity . To ensure cum purity you may desire to plant only one assortment , spread unlike change throughout your garden , or cognize which varieties you are found .

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