Seed Saving: Tomato
Have you ever wondered how to save seeds from a tomato? Maybe you found an especially tasty variety at the farmers market, or perhaps you grew your own from purchased seeds, love the results, and want to plant more in the future. If you want to save seeds from tomatoes, the process is pretty easy.
Step 1: Remove the seeds from the tomato. When saving seeds, you don't need the "meat" of the tomato, just the seeds. Tomato seeds come in their own tiny juice-filled pockets. The juice surrounding tomato seeds is actually a growth inhibitor to prevent the seeds from sprouting while they're still in the tomato.
Step 2: Ferment. This one sounds a lot more complicated than it is. Grab a jar with a lid. Baby food jars work well for small amounts, or re-use your pasta sauce jars (cleaned and sanitized of course) if you'll be saving a larger quantity of seeds. Remember to only put one variety of tomato in each jar, and label them right away! Put the seeds into the jar, and then add water. You want the seeds completely submerged with a little extra water on top. Put the lid on and give it a good shake. Set it on your counter, out of direct sunlight. Every day, give it another good shake. You will see that as the seeds ferment, the juice pockets will deteriorate. Eventually you will have all of your viable seeds at the bottom, no longer in their little pockets, and all of the remains of the pockets and any under-developed seeds will float to the top.
Step 3: Rinse. After 2-3 days, when all of your seeds at the bottom of the jar are now freed from their juice pockets, it's time to rinse the seeds. First, carefully tip the floating stuff out of the jar. You can use a spoon if you prefer. Once the bulk of the seed pocket detritus is removed, carefully add water to the jar, and then pour it out carefully, leaving the seeds in the jar. If there's still extra stuff with the seeds, add more water, spin it around in the jar gently, and pour off the extra water. Always be careful not to dump your seeds out. Once you've gotten all of the detritus out, pour off as much water as you can without losing your seeds.
Step 4: Dry. Now that your seeds are fermented and rinsed, it's time to dry them for storage. You can use paper towels, paper plates, screens, or coffee filters. Lay out your seeds on your preferred drying space. Spread them out so they're not clumped up. You want them to be spaced out as much as possible to allow them to dry thoroughly. Make sure that your seeds are completely dry before storing them. We recommend at least a week on the drying rack. Be sure to label each variety so you can remember which is which.
Step 5: Store. Once your seeds are dry, put them into an air-tight container. You can use a jar or a sealed baggy. Some people store their seeds in a refrigerator or a freezer. They will last much longer stored this way, but you can store them in a plastic tote in a closet for several years as long as your humidity stays low. Don't forget to label all of your seeds!
Step 1: Remove the seeds from the tomato. When saving seeds, you don't need the "meat" of the tomato, just the seeds. Tomato seeds come in their own tiny juice-filled pockets. The juice surrounding tomato seeds is actually a growth inhibitor to prevent the seeds from sprouting while they're still in the tomato.
Step 2: Ferment. This one sounds a lot more complicated than it is. Grab a jar with a lid. Baby food jars work well for small amounts, or re-use your pasta sauce jars (cleaned and sanitized of course) if you'll be saving a larger quantity of seeds. Remember to only put one variety of tomato in each jar, and label them right away! Put the seeds into the jar, and then add water. You want the seeds completely submerged with a little extra water on top. Put the lid on and give it a good shake. Set it on your counter, out of direct sunlight. Every day, give it another good shake. You will see that as the seeds ferment, the juice pockets will deteriorate. Eventually you will have all of your viable seeds at the bottom, no longer in their little pockets, and all of the remains of the pockets and any under-developed seeds will float to the top.
Step 3: Rinse. After 2-3 days, when all of your seeds at the bottom of the jar are now freed from their juice pockets, it's time to rinse the seeds. First, carefully tip the floating stuff out of the jar. You can use a spoon if you prefer. Once the bulk of the seed pocket detritus is removed, carefully add water to the jar, and then pour it out carefully, leaving the seeds in the jar. If there's still extra stuff with the seeds, add more water, spin it around in the jar gently, and pour off the extra water. Always be careful not to dump your seeds out. Once you've gotten all of the detritus out, pour off as much water as you can without losing your seeds.
Step 4: Dry. Now that your seeds are fermented and rinsed, it's time to dry them for storage. You can use paper towels, paper plates, screens, or coffee filters. Lay out your seeds on your preferred drying space. Spread them out so they're not clumped up. You want them to be spaced out as much as possible to allow them to dry thoroughly. Make sure that your seeds are completely dry before storing them. We recommend at least a week on the drying rack. Be sure to label each variety so you can remember which is which.
Step 5: Store. Once your seeds are dry, put them into an air-tight container. You can use a jar or a sealed baggy. Some people store their seeds in a refrigerator or a freezer. They will last much longer stored this way, but you can store them in a plastic tote in a closet for several years as long as your humidity stays low. Don't forget to label all of your seeds!