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

Do Tomato seeds actually need to soak before storage?

Mike FridayMike Friday Posts: 83
in Problem solving
I've read the info about soaking Tomato seeds in water until a scum forms, but not to let them stay too long. However,  I soaked some for 48 hours before rubbing them through a plastic sieve. But I noticed that a few had germinated.  I ditched them all, and soaked some more for just 24 hours, but still some had germinated. This, to me, was impossible inside a day, but there was little protrusions coming out of the seeds. Can anyone enlighten me.
«1

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I suspect they'd absorbed water and were getting ready to sprout (if you soak whole dried mung beans ready for sprouting, you can see the same thing happen but in a larger scale). I thought for storing tomato seed you were supposed to quickly rinse off the pulp and then let the seed dry before storage.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Mike FridayMike Friday Posts: 83
    The science behind soaking them is that the jelly-like substance that coats them inhibits (delays) germination. I'll give the next lot a 'quick rinse' as you suggested.
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    @Mike Friday, if you intend to do this sort of thing with other veg too, you may like to get yourself https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241068.Seed_to_Seed by Suzanne Ashworth.  She's American but does the subject fully.  I gave my copy away as buying packets of seed seemed less hassle, but I recall reading her section on tomatoes which, to me, seemed so complex it wasn't worthwhile.  Having said that, I remember as a boy seeing huge quantities of small tomato plants growing on the waste heaps of the local sewage works which would suggest, if you put a tomato in the soil, nature would take over.  It's one seed that will pass through the human digestive system unharmed.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    If you throw a tomato in your compost bin they’ll seed all over your garden next year.
    I take seed straight out of tomato and red peppers and sow it.  Did the same with a Kiwi fruit. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • KlinkKlink Posts: 261
    Frances Tophill did the very same thing on GW so my OH thought it was worth a try too.The seeds were put in water last night but still no scum has formed on the water.The seeds are now drying out on kitchen roll. I guess it's still worth a try planting them.What's the worst that could happen! :)
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It takes a few days for the mould to appear @Klink. I did some for the first time, about a month ago, and followed the G'sWorld info on the main site. It worked well, and the seeds are now stored away. 
    I don't know how well it would work otherwise, but I might try it to see.
    It's a tomato my daughter likes, so I thought it would be fun to give it a go. Whether they'll be completely different or no though, remains to be seen, as I don't know if they're hybrids or not.  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Mike FridayMike Friday Posts: 83
    I soaked some more seeds and left them to dry on some greaseproof paper - they all stuck and had to be scraped off!
    So I tried another lot, this time on non-stick aluminium foil (silicon-coated I believe) and, after drying, they all slid off without me having to touch them. I haven't tried baking parchment, but the foil does the job fine.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm intrigued as to how yours were germinating when you were soaking them though.
    Did you have them somewhere hot? 
    I rinsed mine and dried them on paper towel and they were fine to remove. All the mould had come off them no problem. Maybe it was beginner's luck. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Mike FridayMike Friday Posts: 83
    Fairygirl: They 'appeared' to be germinating, but were at room temp with the central heating on, about 21-22 degrees. I'll try some more. Talking about germinating, I was trying to collect some seeds from an annual Lavatera last autumn but was hampered by
    the wet weather causing them to rot on the plant. As I plucked off a damp seed head, one seed had a white spot on it - it was starting to germinate on the plant. I potted it
    up and it grew over the winter, to be planted out out where it eventually flowered.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Ah- mine wouldn't have been that warm. That possibly explains it. 
    Even in the kitchen, it wouldn't have been consistently that warm when I did mine.  :)  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sign In or Register to comment.