How to Save Tomato Seeds

Several years ago, my young sons needed a fundraising project to raise money for their annual Boy Scout camp.  I hated the ideas of mowing grass or having a yard sale.  Not that they’re bad ideas, but I just always wish for a broader experience and learning opportunities.  So I suggested to them that they raise and sell tomato plants.  They would learn how to raise tomato plants from seed, the daily attention necessary for such an endeavor, the constant work and attention to be paid to the plants, and they would learn a little about marketing and selling a practical, valuable product. As a bonus, they got to meet more of our neighbors as they took their wagon of tomato plants door-to-door.

One of the varieties they raised, the yellow pear, a cherry tomato, had grown in my gardens in Reno for many years.  I’d been pretty good at saving the seed for the following year’s plants, but in the course of a few moves somehow lost the seed or forgot to propagate one year or something like that.  So when I wanted to plant a yellow pear tomato earlier this spring, I had to buy a new plant. 

The collapsing just-in-time delivery system—actually the collapse of supplies and shipping in general—suggests that seeds and/or plants may not be available online or in stores next spring.  If I want yellow pear tomatoes next year, I’ve got to save my seeds now for starting next year.  The process is really quite simple.  It’s the same whether you are saving seeds from cherry, paste, or slicing tomatoes.

• Pick and wash fully ripe tomatoes.
• Cut the tomato across the middle.
• Scoop or squeeze the seeds and surrounding gel into a bowl. 
• Add an equal amount of water and stir.
• Now there are two options for the next step.
• 1.  Fermentation
• Set the bowl of tomato seeds, gel, and water aside for 1-3 days.  The bowl of seeds will start smelling and become covered with a layer of mold.  (You probably do not want to do this in the house.)
• As soon as the mold completely covers the surface, add water sufficient to double the mixture and stir well. 
• The good seeds will settle to the bottom.  Pour off the mold, debris, and hollow seeds. 
• Add water and repeat the process 2-3 times, or until only clean seeds remain. 
• 2.  No Fermentation
• Pour the entire contents of the bowl into a strainer and wash under running water. 
• Using your fingertips, gently rub the seeds against the screen of the strainer.
• Dump the seeds onto a coffee filter set on a glass or ceramic dish to dry.  (Do not dry the seeds on soft paper, cloth, or non-rigid plastic.  The seeds stick very well to these surfaces and become difficult to remove.)  The coffee filter helps wick moisture away from the seeds. 
• Do not dry seeds in direct sunlight or in an oven. 
• In hot, humid areas, use a fan to speed drying of the seeds. 
• Store completely dried seeds in an airtight container in a cool, dry area or freezer.  

Saving tomato seeds (and other vegetable seeds) is another small step to becoming more self-reliant and less dependent on an increasingly unstable supply system and economy.  If you choose to save a lot of tomato seeds, you can even sell them or the plants you raise to bring in some money or barter next year.  

9 march 2024