Like pea , beans and lettuce , tomatoes are well suitable for ejaculate lay aside in the home garden . you may carry through excellent tomato seeds from a small bit of plants with unlike varieties develop aright next to each other .
In addition to being inbreeding ego - pollinators , this is made potential by the fact that the virile part of the blossom covers the female part so completely that — if and when the peak is visited by a pollinator — all it does is strike hard the pollen flat from the male part right into the female part of the same blossom .
It ca n’t even get to the female part . Cool , right ? Like nearly everything in nature , however , there always need to be an exception , and in this type , it ’s the potato - folio varieties of tomatoes .
Keep ‘Em Separated
The leaves of most tomato plants look kind of like oak leaves . There are a few , however , likeBrandywineand Pruden ’s Purple , that have more oval - shaped leaves . These look very much like the leave of a Solanum tuberosum plant ( hence the name ) .
In addition to this strange shape , these variety have longer - than - common female efflorescence parts that bond out above the virile division . These loose varieties face the risk of outside pollination . They call for a slight detachment from other tomatoes .
This is just an issue for that tomato , though , not for the other ones . You could grow a Brandywine next to aPurple Cherokeeand a Yellow Pear , and the latter two wo n’t have a trouble .
Read more : Check out these 6 , easy - to - save seeds from your garden .
First, Ferment
Once you have a advanced tomato ( this could be one that is vine - mature , or one find fault in that “ almost ripe ” state and allowed to ripen on the windowsill ) , the next step is to ferment the seed . This is not difficult at all , but it ’s necessary when you keep open tomato seminal fluid for two understanding .
First , you probably have notice that the seeds in a Lycopersicon esculentum are beleaguer by a little membrane that makes them take care like a frog ’s orchis . This must be fermented off so that the seed can be decently stored .
Second , the fermentation prevents transmission of a act of tomato disease . These include the much - feared recent blight , among others .
To do the tempestuousness , wring some semen along with some Lycopersicon esculentum juice into a small jar . For very juiceless past tomatoes , I sometimes add just a trivial snatch of water .
localise the jar , uncovered , in a position out of direct sunlight where it wo n’t be disturbed . I like a compass north - east - facing window .
The next footstep I advocate is tell your spouse , partner or other housemate what you are up to . I ’ve lost more than one jarful of work germ to the diligent kitchen cleansing of my wife . ( How can I complain , really , when she ’s the one that cleaned up dinner that nighttime ! )
Speaking of spouses , they are often the ones that will tell you when the fermentation is done because a green plastic film will appear on the surface of the liquid and it will start to smell a little .
This will take three to five days .
Read more : Grape tomatoes might not be fancy , but the flavorful craw pose the job done .
Collection Time
If you leave them in too long , the danger is that they can start to shoot . I ’ve not had this progeny leaving them there up to seven day . But if you have the fourth dimension and the seminal fluid are done , there ’s no grounds to await .
To finish the job , take the jar of fermented come , total a small piddle , and stir with a fork to ensure the seed are well separated from the other textile . ( This is often unnecessary if the fermentation is complete . )
Then pour off most of the urine . Most of the seeds will go to the bottom while the ferment solid can be poured off the top . You will pour out a few semen , too . But like with lettuce ejaculate that we blow into the tip , these will generally not be the healthy , practicable source that you want .
Add some more piss to the assortment and take over this three to four times until the weewee runs decipherable . Then teem off as much water as you could and pour out the damp seed off onto a plate to dry .
You ’ll require to separate them while they are still moist . Once they dry , it ’ll be very difficult to do so .
I just put them on a dinner party shell on top of the fridge , and the next morning they are teetotal . you’re able to dry them on newspaper towels or newsprint , too , but I find that they stick to those .
Once the tomato source are all dry , they ’re ready to save in storage for next year !
This article in the beginning appear in the September / October 2020 effect ofHobby Farmsmagazine . It was excerpt with permission fromBeginning Seed Saving for the Home Gardenerby James Ulager , fromNew Society Publishers(2019 ) .
