Thursday, September 17, 2009

Save Those Tomato Seeds

"Gardening is a way to say that you believe in tomorrow." If that saying is true, than I believe! And if that is true, I need to save some seeds to have tomatoes tomorrow...or in this case, the spring.

Saving seeds is easy if you follow these steps:

1. Seed a tomato


2. Place said seed into a very fine sieve:


3. Rinse the seeds gently. The goal here is to remove the gelatinous material that the seeds swim in and the thin membrane around each seed. This takes longer than you think because those membranes can be really stubborn. For the really difficult ones, you can gently rub them between two paper towels. This is what it looks like before and after:


4. Dry them on a paper plate. See how many seeds I got from a half of a tomato?


5. Once they are dried, wrap the seeds in a paper towel and place them in a labeled food storage bag.

6. Store them in the refrigorator until them at ready to plant in the spring.


Happy Saving:-)

17 comments:

EmmaP said...

great tip! and i LOVE LOVE LOVE garden fresh tomatoes!

mommytoalot said...

I had no idea. Thanks for that tip. I think I am just going to try that. I've been at my hubby to do a vegetable garden..but he thinks the kids will get at it..however..maybe i shall take the lead and do it myself.

mommytoalot said...

Great tip. I also love tomatoes

Amy said...

I did not know you could do that. Wow.

cat said...

And so we learn something new every day! Thanks!

Liz Mays said...

I had no idea. That just makes perfect sense to do it that way instead of buying plants. You are one smart cookie!

Cascia Talbert said...

That is a great idea! I'd try this but we are planning on moving next spring so I doubt I'll have a garden.

koreen (aka: winn) said...

Does that really work? Have you tried chocolate tomatoes? I don't want to eat any others ever again, they're that good!!! =)

Dianna said...

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing this. I do have a goal to eventually save seeds every year and grow everything from scratch.

Sassy Chica said...

What a lovely quote:
"Gardening is a way to say that you believe in tomorrow". Thanks for the tip!

Smooches,
Sassy Chica

Jen said...

Wow, how interesting!

More Than Words said...

Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!! Wow!!! That is a lot of work, but so worth it when you see them growing!!

Melissa B. said...

Good to know! And just think...I usually eat the seeds. Does that mean I have a chance of growing a tomato plant in my tummy? Love the quote, too!

Hippie Family... said...

oh what a great idea. I should have done that when my neighbor gave me some of her low acid heirloom tomatoes....

Teri said...

I don't know why I have never done this. Excellent idea. Have you saved many seeds in the past? About how many plants do you end up keeping from this? Cool.

betty-NZ said...

Fantastic idea, as usual!! Thanks!

Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA said...

Just remember that if you save from a hybrid variety, the tomatoes you get will be anybody's guess. Not that it's a bad thing, but don't expect the same tomato. That's the great thing about heirloom tomatoes, they save true.


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