The first fruits for this seaon's trials are ripe! Time to think about filing reports, so future growers can know what tastes and grows good! Gang members who need report forms will find them at the ITG Potting Shed.

It's a stinky job, but somebody's gotta do it!

Why should I save seeds?

It saves money--your money. It's easy. It promotes self-sufficiency and genetic diversity. It's the best way to ensure that you grow tomatoes that taste good to you and perform well in your backyard. It's the only way you get to keep participating in the Internet Tomato Trials without any cost to you. There are lots of reasons, these are just a few.

But I've never done this before.

That's okay; it's really easy. All you need to save your own seeds are:

an open-pollinated tomato (not a hybrid)

a container for fermenting the seeds (no cover required)

a small sieve or strainer

glass or hard plastic container for drying

paper envelopes for storage

You might want to store your seeds in a refrigerator to help preserve viability.

Instructions:

Collect the seeds

	cut the chosen tomato in half crosswise to expose seed cavities
	gently squeeze the seeds and jelly surrounding them into a container
	add water to the container so that it's about half water and half seeds

Allow the seed mixture to ferment naturally

	this helps destroy both germination-inhibiting chemicals and diseases
	it stinks!
	it's moldy!
	don't cover the container, it could blow up on you!
	ferment seeds out of doors where children and animals can't reach them
	stir once or twice a day
	stop fermenting the seeds when you see bubbles or the surface is covered with mold

Clean the seeds

	add water to the mixture and stir well
	pour off everything that floats
	the good seeds are at the bottom, pour them into a sieve and rinse well

Dry the seeds

	place the seeds into a glass, ceramic or hard plastic container
	put the container in a dry place out of direct sun
	stir once or twice a day until dry
	careful use of a fan may help in humid weather

Store the seeds

	store the seeds in paper envelopes
	seed should remain viable for several years if kept in a cool, dry place

We recommend Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth for detailed information on saving seed of all types. Seeds of Texas' excellent Seed Saver's Handbook also discusses seed saving techniques, as well offering a well-written section on isolation techniques for growing plants from which you hope to collect seed that will be true to variety.

Last modified: November 11, 1999