You have a tomato plant that has nice, large, juicy tomatoes and you want to know how to save tomato seeds for next years garden. Saving tomato seeds is not an overly complicated process if you don’t mind a little mess.
The best seed comes from the best tomatoes, so set aside your very best tomato, or couple of tomatoes for your seed.
Tomato seeds take a bit more effort than most plants in that you can’t just collect them as they dry on the plant.
Tomato seeds are enclosed in a gel like sack that prevents them from germinating in the tomato. They are released when the tomatoes fall off the plant and ferment.
Our first step to saving the tomato seeds is to speed up the fermentation process.
Slice your tomato across the equator, so that the stem is on one side and the blossom end is on the other.
Take a spoon and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Then place them in a clean bowl or jar.
You may need to add a bit of water to the mixture if the seeds aren’t floating in liquid.
Ferment the mixture for two to four days by placing it in a warm place like a window sill, or on top of the fridge.
The fermentation process produces a bit of an odor so you may want to find a spot that’s out of the way of your normal day to day activities.
Covering your container with cheese cloth or plastic wrap will keep out the fruit flies and help keep down the odor. If you use plastic wrap be sure to poke some air hole in it to allow the mixture to breath.
Once a layer of mold has formed on the top of your mixture, the fermentation process is complete, and the good seeds will have sunk to the bottom.
If you peel off the top layer of mold it will be easier to separate the seeds from the mixture. Add some water to the mixture and shake it. The dud seeds will float to the top along with the scum, and the good seeds will sink to the bottom.
Separate the good seeds from the scum and dud seeds by gently pouring off the top of the mixture. You may have to repeat this a few times to remove all but the good seeds.
Place your seeds in a sieve and rinse them off under cold water to remove any remaining pulp.
Spread out your seeds on a plate and place them in a warm dry place to allow the seeds to completely dry for a day or two.
Store your seeds in a brown envelope, plastic bags will retain any moisture that may be left.
As you can see, it’s not that difficult to save tomato seeds, so why not try saving the seeds from your best tomatoes so that next year you can grow tomatoes from seeds that you know are good?
Did you know that it’s possible to grow upside down tomatoes?