If you’re wondering how to save tomato seeds, then the likelihood is that you love growing tomatoes. And once you save seeds from your favorite tomato plants, you don’t need to worry about buying seeds next year.
There are other benefits to saving tomato seeds like:
being able to save lots of seed from the healthiest, most vigorous plants and earliest ripening fruit
knowing your seeds are freed from disease and chemicals
curating a set of seeds from your favorite varieties
HOW TO SAVE TOMATO SEEDS
I wont to think that the method for saving tomato seeds was complicated, but it’s actually tons easier than I assumed. And don’t worry. If you don’t want to travel through the method of fermenting, I’m getting to show you a fast and straightforward trick that skips that tone.
3 WAYS to save lots of TOMATO SEEDS.
First I’ll mention fermenting the seeds because that’s the perfect method.
FERMENTING is that the PREFERRED METHOD FOR SAVING TOMATO SEEDS.
The fermenting process removes substances within the tomato gel that inhibit germination and may decrease the probabilities of passing on any bacterial or fungal disease to the subsequent generation.
It takes a few weeks, but browsing the steps to ferment tomato seeds, makes sure you’re saving the healthiest, highest quality tomato seeds.
Benefits of fermenting tomato seeds:
higher germination rates
last longer in storage
cleaner and prettier seeds
STEP 1: REMOVE THE SEEDS FROM YOUR TOMATO
Slice the tomato along rock bottom to show the seed cavities.
Squeeze the seeds into a cup. Any cup will do. you’ll mix tomato seeds out of fruit from an equivalent variety, but use a special cup for every different sort of tomato.
Plastic cups are convenient because you’ll write the variability name right them, and that they are often washed and reused.
STEP 2: LET THE SEEDS FERMENT
If the tomato wasn’t particularly juicy, add touch water to the seeds and juice within the cup. you would like only enough liquid to hide the seeds and meat within the cup.
Cover them with a towel, and set them where you’ll keep an eye fixed on them in order that they don’t dry out.
Let them ferment for 3 to 7 days. they’ll get a touch mold growing on the highest. That’s okay.
STEP 3: RINSE AND LET DRY
When they’re done fermenting, rinse the tomato seeds by adding more water and stirring. Then carefully pour off the mold and excess water. Repeat until the water is obvious and therefore the seeds are freed from debris.
When they’re clean, lay them bent dry on a towel . Give them a full week to dry out before you store them to stop mold growth during storage.
Gather the seeds into a labeled envelope and keep them during a cool dry place.
HOW TO SAVE TOMATO SEEDS WITHOUT FERMENTING
Saving tomato seeds without fermenting is completely doable, and if you’re short on time this is often the way to go. All you’ve got to try to do is slice open your tomato and squeeze out the seeds while you smear them across a towel.
Let them dry on the towel for every week approximately. Once they’re completely dry, you’ll simply fold up the towel and place it during a bag or envelope.
The only negatives we’ve observed about saving seeds this manner is that sometimes the seeds are slow to germinate, and if you allow any bits of the towel on once you germinate them you’ll get some mold growth.
THE THIRD thanks to SAVE TOMATO SEEDS
Just leave a couple of tomatoes to rot in your garden, and therefore the fermentation process will occur naturally outdoors. You totally skip the step of harvesting tomato seeds, but within the spring, you’ll still have some tomato plants sprouting.
You won’t have control over once they come up or be ready to plant them deep permanently root structure. And there’s always an opportunity they’ll crop up too early and obtain killed by frost.
So it’s not the simplest way of preserving tomato seeds for planting. and that I don’t recommend counting on this method of saving tomato seeds, but it does work.
We had a cherry tomato crop up during a crack within the concrete next to our porch. We used the porch railings to tie it up all summer and it made for convenient snacking.
ISSUES WITH FERMENTING TOMATO SEEDS
Since the seeds got to ferment for a few weeks, they’re going to start to grow some mold and should even get a touch smelly. And if you’re saving seeds from tons of tomatoes, they will take up tons of space.
If it starts to bother you and it’s been quite 3 days, just plow ahead and process them.
The worst thing, honestly, is that if your tomatoes start to draw in flies. Tiny fruit flies will go nutty for fermenting tomato seeds, and that they are often really annoying if they get inside your house.
Make a homemade trap by mixing some raw ACV with a drop of dish soap and a drop of syrup during a little jar or cup and set it next to your fermenting tomato seeds. It helps trap any little flies which may come around.
These ready-made fly traps also work rather well when placed among the cups of fermenting seeds. It lasts an extended time, and therefore the package comes with 6 refillable traps.
HOW MANY TOMATOES do you have to but SEED?
The number of seeds per tomato varies tons counting on the variability. But it’s an honest guess that you simply can get a minimum of 20 seeds from one tomato. So a home gardener usually only must save seed from one tomato of every variety.
However, you’ll save as many as you would like and share your bounty with good friends!
STORING TOMATO SEEDS
Tomato seeds will store for several years if kept dry and cool.
Once they’re completely dry, you’ll save them in paper envelopes, plastic baggies, empty prescription bottles, or small jars. Store them within their container in the refrigerator or a cool, dark place.
You can expect them to germinate pretty much the primary 3 years after they’re saved. then, the germination rate will start to say no, but they’re still worth a trying to grow even up to eight years in storage.
