How to save your own Tomato Seeds

Get that perfect tomato? Find a great heirloom tomato at the farmers market? Here is my way to keep the seeds and grow them the next year. Make one tomato equal hundreds!

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Tomato
• Water
• Plastic Wrap
• Glass
• Spoon
• Paring Knife
• Fine mesh sieve
• Paper plate
• Small envelopes (paper is best!)

1. Find that perfect tomato! This is a brandywine, an heirloom that I am particularly fond of.
2. Cut the tomato in half, across the tomato, like this. This is the inside of a brandywine, note the lack of pith, they are a great tomato but you won't get as many seeds (worth the effort!). This photo is by Laurel Garza: Owner, Laurel's Heirloom Tomato Plants (look them up!). She told me they forgot to save these seeds, after this pic was taken...they couldn't help but eat it...yes, that is how good a brandywine is!
3. Scoop out the seeds and goo with either your finger or a spoon and put them in a glass.
4. Add a bit of water and give it a stir.
5. Now you want to cover the top of the glass with plastic wrap. Put a small hole in it to promote air flow, a paring knife works great! This helps them ferment, that will give you the separation you will need.
6. Put this glass of seed stuff/water on top of the fridge or in a sunny window.
7. The process of ferment/separation takes about 2-3 days so every night take off the plastic wrap and give the mix a stir, if you use new wrap DON'T forget the hole!
8. The top of the water will look "scummy" when the fermentation process has removed the goop from the seeds. It also helps destroy many of the tomato diseases that can be harbored by seeds.
9. Take a spoon and carefully scoop the goop/scum off and discard it.
10. Dump the rest in a fine meshed sieve and carefully rinse. Stir while rinsing, carefully with your finger to remove any bits of pulp that may still be attached. Tap the sieve against the sink a couple times to help get rid of any water left.
11. Spread them out in a single layer on a paper plate.
12. Set them somewhere safe, such as a nice unused cupboard area.
13. Stir them around every day. Make sure to spread them out in a single layer again! They can take a week or more to dry.
14. If you use paper envelopes to hold them you have a bit of leeway but if you are using plastic envelopes they have to be DRY or you will have useless, moldy seeds!
15. Save till next year, share with family and friends and grow them yourself!

Tips & Warnings

• If you are doing more than one kind of tomato, make sure to label them!
• Utilize the internet for sowing and growing instructions, there are different ones for different tomatoes!