Collecting tomato seed

[mikul101]

When I am in Greece the tomato varieties available over their seem much nicer than the ones you can buy here. I have grown my own tomatos before so I would like to try and collect some seeds to grow next year, I'm assuming I'm too late for this year.

What is the best way to collect and store the seed? Basically how do I go about it? I'm sure I've seen an article on this somewhere but I can't seem to find it

Your help is much appreciated.

[Annpan]

I have a book that simply suggest hollowing out the seeds, spread them out on a piece of kitchen roll and allow to dry.

I have never tried it myself but I'd imagine that once they are dry you can store them in a jar or sommat till spring.

[Wombat]

Hey Guys!

I believe the standard way is to scoop out the pulp and place in a jar and allow to ferment. Once a foam forms wash through a sieve to get rid of the gunk (technical term ) then spread on paper to dry. The fermentation stage prevents transmission of tomator diseases.

Nev

[Annpan]

thanks for putting me right Nev

[Wombat]

No worries Mate!

Nev

[mikul101]

Thanks,

Any idea how long the fermentation process takes?

When you say stick them in a ajr, does the jar need water in it? Also does it need an air tight lid or should it be exposed to the air?

[Wombat]

In most cases I believe added water is not necessary and I think the fermentation process would only be a day or two (at least in my experience) but it would depend on the ambient temperature. I think exposure to the air is OK, at least that is how i did it.

Nev

[wulf]

I use the natural method... let things sprout until they are identifiable in the soil before pulling up the weeds. I invariably end up with plenty of tomatoes from my homemade compost (made in a "green dalek" which doesn't allow for proper, hot aerobic composting).

Of course, it is pot luck what varieties I will get but seems to be a good way to supplement the relatively low yield of healthy tomato plants I get from seed packets.

Wulf

[Wombat]

Yep, that is a perfectly resonsable way of doing it Wulf! But if you are looking to improve the variety over time so that it becomes more adapted to your microclimate you need to identify the "best" plant ie one with the beneficial characteristics you are looking for and save seed from that. Volunteers are good (I use 'em too) but if your aim is long term improvement you need to know the characteristics of the parent plant.

Nev