I'm quite happy to report that thus far the seed-saving experiment is a success. The seeds I collected willy-nilly and the seeds I lovingly soaked and fermented seem to be neck and neck. This is sort of interesting to me because as I understood it, tomato seeds need to ferment in order to ultimately germinate. And it seems as if we've got no problems there, regardless how the seeds were initially handled. In the end, I'm sure it's worth the extra effort to ferment the seeds, if nothing more than as added precaution. Besides, gardeners have always considered extra effort a fair price for the sublime sweetness of a home-grown tomato.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Seeds Worth Saving
Looks like my plum tomatoes will be back for an encore performance. . .
I'm quite happy to report that thus far the seed-saving experiment is a success. The seeds I collected willy-nilly and the seeds I lovingly soaked and fermented seem to be neck and neck. This is sort of interesting to me because as I understood it, tomato seeds need to ferment in order to ultimately germinate. And it seems as if we've got no problems there, regardless how the seeds were initially handled. In the end, I'm sure it's worth the extra effort to ferment the seeds, if nothing more than as added precaution. Besides, gardeners have always considered extra effort a fair price for the sublime sweetness of a home-grown tomato.
I'm quite happy to report that thus far the seed-saving experiment is a success. The seeds I collected willy-nilly and the seeds I lovingly soaked and fermented seem to be neck and neck. This is sort of interesting to me because as I understood it, tomato seeds need to ferment in order to ultimately germinate. And it seems as if we've got no problems there, regardless how the seeds were initially handled. In the end, I'm sure it's worth the extra effort to ferment the seeds, if nothing more than as added precaution. Besides, gardeners have always considered extra effort a fair price for the sublime sweetness of a home-grown tomato.
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3 comments:
I've not heard of this fermentation thing with tomato seeds. Interesting! I saved seeds from my 'Sungold' cherry tomatoes from last year and ever single one of them I planted germinated. I just rinsed and dried them last fall and stored them in a plastic bag for the winter.
Hi Kylee,
Apparently that gel-like outercoating on the seed is meant to prevent it from germinating too soon. Fermenting them removes this coating. Rinsing them probably also did the trick. With my first batch I didn't even rinse, I just dried them out on a paper towel. The second batch I fermented. I bet rinsing is probably the perfect middle ground. Good luck with your tomatoes!
Great looking crop of tomatoes.
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