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    Saving Tomato Seeds

    Uploaded by

    Sandra Mian
    This document provides instructions for saving tomato seeds from homegrown tomatoes. It explains that only open-pollinated varieties, not hybrids, will breed true from saved seeds. The best tomatoes from healthy plants should be selected for seed saving. Seeds are then fermented to more easily separate them from pulp and reduce illnesses. After drying, seeds can be stored for years in an airtight container. Bagging flower clusters prevents crosses from other varieties that could create hybrids.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Saving Tomato Seeds

    Uploaded by

    Sandra Mian
    99 views1 page
    This document provides instructions for saving tomato seeds from homegrown tomatoes. It explains that only open-pollinated varieties, not hybrids, will breed true from saved seeds. The best tomatoes from healthy plants should be selected for seed saving. Seeds are then fermented to more easily separate them from pulp and reduce illnesses. After drying, seeds can be stored for years in an airtight container. Bagging flower clusters prevents crosses from other varieties that could create hybrids.

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    How save seeds for future planting

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    This document provides instructions for saving tomato seeds from homegrown tomatoes. It explains that only open-pollinated varieties, not hybrids, will breed true from saved seeds. The best tomatoes from healthy plants should be selected for seed saving. Seeds are then fermented to more easily separate them from pulp and reduce illnesses. After drying, seeds can be stored for years in an airtight container. Bagging flower clusters prevents crosses from other varieties that could create hybrids.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    99 views1 page

    Saving Tomato Seeds

    Uploaded by

    Sandra Mian
    This document provides instructions for saving tomato seeds from homegrown tomatoes. It explains that only open-pollinated varieties, not hybrids, will breed true from saved seeds. The best tomatoes from healthy plants should be selected for seed saving. Seeds are then fermented to more easily separate them from pulp and reduce illnesses. After drying, seeds can be stored for years in an airtight container. Bagging flower clusters prevents crosses from other varieties that could create hybrids.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    Agriculture & Natural Resources

    Cooperative Extension
    Santa Clara County
    1555 Berger Dr., Bldg. 2, San Jose, CA 95112
    Hotline: 408-282-3105
    E-mail: [email protected]

    Saving Tomato Seeds


    So youve heard about heirloom seeds and want to try saving your own? Heres how.
    Open-pollinated vs. hybrid
    First, make sure that the variety youre saving is
    open-pollinated, not hybrid. All heirloom tomatoes
    are open-pollinated. Open-pollinated varieties will
    come true from seeds, but hybrids are created by seed
    companies who carefully crossing two parent plants
    to yield seeds for the hybrid variety. So hybrid
    varieties will not breed true.
    Choosing tomatoes to save
    Over many decades, people created heirloom
    varieties by carefully selecting and saving seeds from
    their best plants, season after season. You can define
    best to be whatever characteristic youre after:
    biggest or healthiest plant, biggest, tastiest, most
    interesting or colorful tomato. Whatever you want,
    just choose the best examples of what youre saving.
    For instance, if you have two plants and one is sickly,
    the other healthy, choose a tomato from the healthy
    one. The sickly one may be carrying some weakness
    in its genes, so you dont want to propogate that. This
    is not a time for waste not, want not. You want the
    best. Similarly, choose tomatoes in their prime, not
    over-ripe or under-ripe, diseased, mis-shapened, etc.
    Since youre just saving the seeds, youll get to eat
    most of the tomato anyhow, so this isnt a real
    sacrifice. To maintain good genetic diversity, its best
    to save seeds from multiple tomatoes, and preferably
    from more than one plant of the same variety, if
    possible.
    Fermentation
    You dont absolutely have to ferment the seeds, but it
    makes the seeds easier to separate from the gel, helps
    sort out bad seeds, reduces some seed-borne illnesses,
    and eliminates a germination inhibitor. If youre
    going to trade seeds with other people, its considered
    good etiquette to ferment your seeds. Heres how.
    Cut the tomato in half and scoop or squeeze out the
    seeds and gel into a small container labeled with the
    variety name. Set the rest of the tomato aside for
    eating. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water. Set the container
    aside, out of the sun, for 3 to 5 days. A moldy film
    will probably form on top. Thats okay.

    To separate the seeds: First carefully remove the film.


    Then add some more water and stir. Good seeds will
    sink, so carefully pour off the water and the floating
    bits of pulp. Repeat until all the pulp is gone and you
    have clean seeds. Drain them as well as you can
    (using a paper towel helps), then spread them in a
    single layer on a screen or a paper plate to dry. You
    can use paper towels, but the seeds tend to stick to
    them. Dont use plastic or ceramic plates! The seeds
    need to have the water wicked away from them. If
    youre saving multiple varieties, be sure to label the
    plates.
    Storage
    Once the seeds are thoroughly dry, place in an
    airtight container for storage. Tomato seeds remain
    viable for years, even stored at room temperature. For
    extra protection, you can store them in the
    refrigerator or freezer, but let them come to room
    temperature before opening the jar so you dont
    introduce moisture from condensation. Small packets
    of silica gel will help absorb excess moisture also.
    Crosses
    Tomato flowers will generally fertilize themselves,
    but a busy bee could create a natural hybrid for you.
    Commercial growers isolate their varieties by large
    distances to ensure pure seed. Thats not an option
    for most home growers, but if youve got an active
    bee population in your tomato patch, you could try
    bagging your blossoms instead.
    Choose a cluster of flowers that havent opened yet
    and place a paper or cloth (not plastic) bag over them
    for a few days. Shaking it gently every morning may
    help pollination. Remove the bag after the flowers
    whither, marking the cluster with a tag so youll
    remember which one you bagged. Watch to see if any
    fruits start to form. If not, try again with another
    cluster.

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