|
You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants! Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
|
|
 |
|
Saving seeds from your heirloom tomatoes is easy once you learn all about the fermentation process.
|
|
 I love the idea of self-sufficiency in the garden, and heirloom/open-pollinated varieties of vegetables fit very well into that mind frame. One of the many benefits of heirlooms is that you can save the seed from each crop you grow and use them the following season. Unlike hybrids, which force you to buy new seeds each year, heirlooms will always produce the same fruit year after year, giving you true self-sufficiency in this area.
Saving seeds from tomatoes, however, is far from intuitive and many methods have been used to varying levels of success. Behold now as I forever put to rest the mystery of tomato seed saving as I unlock the mystery of fermentation!
So, you've harvested a bunch of tomatoes, and you are ready to save the seed. In addition to the tomatoes, you will need a clean knife and jar or cup, as well as a sharpee-type marker.
Remove the stem from each fruit and turn it over so the bottom is facing up. Then take your knife and make a small cut in the bottom of the tomato.
Now squeeze the insides of the tomato into a clean container. I use 16 ounce disposable plastic cups for this purpose. When squeezing the insides, you want to get all the seeds and pulp into the cup. Once the seeds are removed, use what's left of the tomato for fresh eating or making salsa (is there any other use for tomatoes?)
Make sure the container is marked with the type of tomato grown, as well as the date that you harvested these tomatoes. The fermentation process is a bit lengthy and, while you THINK you will remember what variety is in that cup, you can't rely on your memory (trust me on this one). So get your marker out and mark that cup.
Depending on the juiciness of the tomato being processed, you may need to add a little water to give the whole mix a nice soupy consistency. It doesn't hurt the process if you add a bit more water than needed. In the case of the Tiny Tiger tomatoes used in this illustration, I did not need to add any water.
After a couple days, you should notice a lovely white froth developing on the top of the mixture. This exciting display means that fermentation is well under way and you may now begin dreaming of next year's salsa.
Once the froth has developed, I like to give it a good stir once or twice a day. This seems to encourage the seeds to seperate from the pulp a bit.
When the fermentation process has gone for several days, give it one last stir and then fill the container the rest of the way, all the way to the brim, with water. Then stir gently and wait about 10 seconds for the viable seeds to settle on the bottom. Then pour out the top half of the liquid, being careful to avoid dumping the good seeds that sunk to the bottom. The floating seeds on top are bad seeds and deserve to be thrown out with the bathwater.
Then fill it up to the top again, stir, wait, pour out half. Repeat. Repeat again. Repeat again. Yes, repeat again. You will notice that each time you fill and dump, your water will become clearer and clearer and the pulp will eventually be gone. Repeat that process as many times as needed until the water is crystal clear and all you have left is clean water and millions of seeds in the bottom of the cup.
At that point, carefully pour out almost all the water, then dump the seeds out onto some wide container. I use styrofoam dinner plates.
Wick off the excess water from the plate using a paper towel and then spread the seeds into a thin layer. Let dry in a shaded area, out of direct sunlight (I put on my fridge). When they are completely dry, you'll have a big cake of tomato seeds. Rub the cake between your fingers to separate the seeds from each other, the package them up in labeled envelopes and then head directly to the DG Tomatoes forum and trade your seeds for even more heirloom varieties!
Quick note: when I save tomato seeds, I do my best to obtain an equal amount of fruit from ALL the plants of that variety that I grew. This way, I get a diverse group of genes. It also goes without saying that in order to maintain seed purity, you shouldn't grow tomatoes of differing varieties close to each other. I recommend the book "Seed to Seed" to learn about seed purity. Have fun. :)
body { background: #FFF; } body { background: #FFF; }
 | Dave comes from a long line of gardeners and technologists, and is passionate about using technology to improve our lives through gardening. Following a successful career in technology, he founded DavesGarden.com in the summer of 2000, and since then has been working closely with gardeners from around the world to serve every facet of gardening. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the articles section of DG.
|
|
|
Subject: Fermentation
Posted by seedpicker_TX (from Plano, TX) on February 22, 2008 at 1:44 PM: Is there a particlar reason why you would want these seeds to FERMENT, instead of just speeding up this process(for example some suggest using a blender and a lot of water, then using a strainer, which reduces this step to one day, or simply rubbing seeds between paper towels).
I know that certain seeds(beans) are better/healthier eaten after partial fermentation, but I've never heard to ferment seeds you are going to dry...
Does this help the future germination? And if left too long in the cup, wouldn't they begin to sprout radicals & actually start to germinate?
-T ... Posted by dave (from Jacksonville, TX) on February 22, 2008 at 2:21 PM: The fermentation process that I do is mimicking exactly the process that the fruit undergoes in nature. I believe the closer we get to gardening the way nature intends it, the better results we will see.
I have also read that fermentation kills seed-borne diseases. It's been many years since I read on the subject, though. I'd have to get back out my books to refresh my memory on all the benefits to fermentation. ... Posted by seedpicker_TX (from Plano, TX) on February 22, 2008 at 4:09 PM: If it kills seed-bourne diseases, then that is definitely a good reason to do it!
Thank you ...
Subject: Saving Heirloom Seeds - Varietal Spacing
Posted by challweaver (from Yarmouth, ME) on July 11, 2007 at 1:48 PM:Dave wrote:
"It also goes without saying that in order to maintain seed purity, you shouldn't grow tomatoes of differing varieties close to each other. "
I have 2-each of six different heirloom tomatoes, all spaced fairly close together . . so it sounds like i cant successfully save the seed? How far apart are we talking?
Chris ... Posted by dave (from Jacksonville, TX) on July 24, 2007 at 10:30 AM: Chris,
The book "Seed to Seed" references the exact numbers. They would be something like 6 to 10 feet apart for tomatoes, but for safety's sake I'd give them 25 feet.
dave ...
Subject: About the same
Posted by tcfromky (from Mercer, PA) on February 13, 2007 at 8:29 PM:That's very similar to the method I use Sir Dave. About the only real difference I see is the part where you say you put on your fridge. I just wear old jeans and my Dave's Garden T-shirt while I'm doing this chore. ;~)
... Posted by dave (from Jacksonville, TX) on February 27, 2007 at 12:54 PM: :-) ... Posted by tcfromky (from Mercer, PA) on February 27, 2007 at 7:48 PM: Has spring sprung there?
Hmmm. That just gave me an idee for a topic for another story for Gardens.com. ... Posted by dave (from Jacksonville, TX) on March 2, 2007 at 1:43 PM: Definitely springtime here. Even the oak trees are budding out and dropping their flowers. Daffodils are finished and the tulips are in full bloom! ... Posted by tcfromky (from Mercer, PA) on March 3, 2007 at 9:42 AM: I'm in agony. Snow is still covering most of our flower beds, it's too wet to walk around and see if my hosta spears are starting to poke out and I've not heard the first robin yet.
But I'll get some relief tomorrow when the wife and I visit - [HYPERLINK@www.theflowershow.com] ...
Subject: question about the fermenting part
Posted by Sofonisba (from Putnam County, NY) on February 13, 2007 at 7:51 PM:Hi Dave,
Great turorial. One question. What temperature is best for fermenting? Is regular room temperature okay?
Thanks!
Harper ... Posted by dave (from Jacksonville, TX) on February 27, 2007 at 12:54 PM: Yes, regular room temperature is no problem. ... Posted by Sofonisba (from Putnam County, NY) on February 28, 2007 at 1:20 PM: thanks Dave! ...
Subject: Easy to follow photo tutorial
Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on February 9, 2007 at 10:54 AM:This article and set of photos made it easy. Thanks :)
Dea
... Posted by dave (from Jacksonville, TX) on February 9, 2007 at 12:29 PM: Thanks :) ... Posted by frostweed (from Arlington, TX) on February 12, 2007 at 6:11 PM: Good article Dave!! I don't grow tomatoes now because the birds and the squirrels get them before I do, but if the need should arise, I know what to do now.
You had some lovely peppers last fall at the RU that you brought to share, do you do those the same way?
Josephine. ... Posted by Gustichock (from Tandil
(Argentina)) on February 13, 2007 at 10:09 PM: What exactly is a hairloom? I know the meaning of hair and the meaning of loom but... (?)
I really want to start cultivating herbs and veggies. As a matter of fact I've already started but I need a lot more to learn. Hopefully this coming winter I'll start sowing indoors so after the last cold I can plant my seedling outdoors.
Thanks a lot for sharing so much knowledge!
Gus. ... Posted by PudgyMudpies (from Stockton, CA) on February 16, 2007 at 11:15 PM: Gus,
Here is a link with a good explanation. Hope that helps! :~)
[HYPERLINK@en.wikipedia.org]
Dave, that is a very helpful article and your step by step pics are a real plus.
Edited to say:
Gus, I just finished reading a really nice article by a member right here on gardens.com regarding heirlooms. If you have not already seen it, take a look.
[HYPERLINK@gardens.com]
This message was edited Feb 16, 2007 8:18 PM ... Posted by TARAJEAN (from Trenton, FL) on October 24, 2007 at 1:57 AM: How long do the seeds last ? The reason im asking is I believe my aunt brought back some seeds from Italy (of tomatoes) several years ago and never planted them. I wonder if they are still viable?
If so i live in florida and im gonna give it a try. I found out the hard way here in florida tomatoes need partial shade during the day or they dont flower they just grow to tremendous heights lol. im new to the forum but we have 5 acres that we can utilize and its just sitting here gathering weeds. thank you for the advice and happy planting to all ! ! ... Posted by dave (from Jacksonville, TX) on November 28, 2007 at 4:46 PM: Sorry for not seeing this until just now...
In my experience, tomato seeds do last a long time, but with each passing year you'll have a smaller percentage of seed remain viable.
After 5 years, I would guess than 50% of them would still germinate. Beyond that, I really don't know. ...
Login to post a comment.
|
