Forum home› Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Collecting Tomato Seeds

Fishy65Fishy65 Posts: 2,276
in Fruit & veg
This may be a silly question but what's the procedure when you find a variety you want to grow again? These are Garden Pearl and I'd like to grow them next year as they are producing tasty toms and lots to boot. I'm assuming using seeds from a very ripe fruit and drying them out? 

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I have collected seeds from tomatoes, they rarely come true, but you never know.
    Better off buying a packet just in case, the packet of seeds will last you at least ten years so you can sow a couple and keep the rest. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Fishy65Fishy65 Posts: 2,276
    OK thanks for that Lyn, I'll look for some on the internet in that case  :)
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    Any Non F1 tomato seed will generally come true, out crossing in tomatoes is rare as most flowers self pollinate. Take the seed pulp from a ripe tomato and mix it with a little water, let it ferment for 2-3 days then drain and rinse the goop off, you should have nice clean tomato seeds, dry those out and you're all set. Don't leave them fermenting too long or they may start to germinate which obviously isn't what you want.
    I keep a couple of rare varieties going this way and so far I have not had any come out mixed as it were.
  • Reluctant_GardenerReluctant_Gardener Posts: 284
    There's good advice on drying and storing orthodox seed on the Kew Millenium Seed Bank Site.
    Use baking parchment rather than paper towels as seeds won't stick which can damage the radicle on separation. Even if you watch them every two minutes they're still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, still wet, glued solid.
    Air dry as far as is reasonably practical then store in paper envelopes in a box with a silica gel sachet in the box.


    If sowing straight away there's no need to dry seeds out e.g. if you buy a non-F1 cultivar tomato at the start of next season just sink it in.
    Some of my best plants came from tomatoes that were going over. I sliced them, burried the slices in growing medium and transplanted the seedlings. Far less faff but you'll be lucky to find a non-F1 variety in the shops or a pure cultivar in a domestic greenhouse with multiple unsegregated or naturally-pollinated varieties.

    I haven't noticed much variation in F1s from the premium varieties from the shops but anything bigger than cherry or piccolo  need early heat and light to get to size for my growng season.


  • Fishy65Fishy65 Posts: 2,276
    Thank you both for the comprehensive replies, I will bear your advice in mind.
Sign In or Register to comment.