How to Save Tomato Seeds for Next Year

You have successfully grown and harvested your best crop of tomatoes ever. So it would stand to reason that you would like to duplicate your efforts next year. The problem is that by next year, you may forget what seeds you bought or your local garden center may change brands or varieties making it all but impossible for a replay of the previous year. Not to worry. With a little bit of effort and the knowledge you are about to gain, you can successfully recover seeds from your own tomato plants to be sowed and grown next year.

Tomato seeds are a little different from many other seeds in that they are encased in a gel covering that inhibits the seed from sprouting inside of the tomato. We could let nature take its course and let the tomato rot and ferment until it is completely dried out and grab the seeds that way but that just takes way too long. We are going to speed the process up immensely.

Before you even begin, if you are extracting seeds from multiple varieties at the same time, make sure you separate the tomatoes and the containers and label everything ahead of time. There’s nothing worse in this process than successfully drying all your seeds and then determining that you have no idea which seeds are which.

Obviously you want to choose your finest fruit to save for next year so you pass along the strongest genes. With a sharp knife, cut the tomato in half so that you have the blossom end on one side and the stem end on the other. Scoop the seeds into a clean bowl. Some varieties will display the seeds quite freely while others may require digging into the flesh a little more to get all the seeds.

You will now want to separate the seeds from the pulp. Pour some water into the bowl and make sure all the seeds and water are mixed together well. You only want to add enough water so that it is a gel like consistency and not mostly water. Now you can relax for awhile to let the fermentation process take place. To speed this up, find a warm place in your home. I use my sunroom and place the bowl on the windowsill to get the most heat. Cover the bowl with a paper towel, napkin or some other porous material to keep fruit flies and other pests away. One word of warning though is that with many fermenting processes, this is going to produce quite an odor so choose a place that is out of the way.

The fermentation process with vary in length of time depending on the amount of heat it receives. Begin checking it after day 2. You will want to see a layer of mold across the top of the liquid. When you see bubbles forming or when the entire bowl is covered in mold, you are ready to move on to the next step. Do not let the mixture sit longer than this as the gel has now been removed from the seeds and they may begin to germinate in these warm conditions.

Lift or scrape off the layer of mold and throw it away. Pour the remaining mixture into a mason jar and add some water. Put a lid on the jar and tighten it completely and shake the mixture for about 15 – 20 seconds. The good seeds will begin settling to the bottom while all the junk will rise to the top. Pour off as much of the junk as you can without the seeds coming out. If a lot of pulp remains, repeat this process again. Finally strain the seeds and rinse thoroughly under running water. Remove as much of the pulp as possible.

Next, spread the seeds out onto a ceramic or glass plate for final drying. I’ve also heard of people using coffee filters but have never tried that myself. Do not spread onto newspaper, paper towels or napkins as the remaining hints of pulp will dry and stick to this tender surface. Set the plate in a warm, dry location to dry out completely. Move the seeds around daily to help break down any clumps of seeds into singles. Drying usually takes up to 1 week.

When the seeds are completely dried out, collect them and pour then into an air tight container for storage. You can use zip lock bags or small air tight mason jars for storage. Store the containers in a cool, dry location. If properly dried, you can reasonably expect germination rates of around 50% for up to 7 or 8 years.

This is not the only way to extract and save tomato seeds but it is the way I was taught and I have had good success with it.


Growing the Organic Tomato Garden

So what is an organic garden? Well, this simply means that you grow everything completely natural with no pesticides and no synthetic fertilizers. But I like to say that organic gardening is more about what you do rather than what you do not do. It is the way you interact with nature and use the environment around you to create a perfect balance. It involves proper use of the soil, the rain, the wildlife around you, the trees, the wind and even the insects. Some insects are good and some are bad. It takes a little work in the beginning to learn the difference and which insects you need to protect to get rid of the bad insects.

Developing the proper soil is at the very heart of organic gardening. Without the proper soil, your plants will never receive the nutrients they need and you will never attract the good insects and earthworms to help to continually break down your soil to create nutrients. You have everything you need all around you. When you mow the grass, save the grass clippings. When you rake the leaves in the fall, save them to be tilled in to your garden. When you eat fruits and vegetables, save the scraps to be composted. You can also resort to making a trip to the local compost facility and picking up a load of free compost to add to your base. Adding compost will help give your soil the kick start it needs.

Not all soils are equal though. You may have a heavy clay base or a very sandy soil. Simply adding compost to these soils may help but it won’t be the cure. Have your soil tested. You can do this yourself using a kit from a local garden center or you can contact a local cooperative that will do this for you. This will test to see what nutrients may be lacking and what the pH level of the soil is.

To keep weeds at bay, never use weed killers. Simply surround your plants with a heavy dose of organic material to keep the light from getting to the weeds which will either keep them from growing or really slow them down. My favorite method is to blanket the ground with wet newspaper and then cover the newspaper with a few inches of compost or mulch. This has a two-fold purpose of blocking weeds along with retaining moisture to keep the plant roots moist. Then when the growing season has ended, the paper will breakdown and can be tilled into the soil for next years crop.

Now what do we do with all those pests? Many gardeners tend to panic when they see an infestation of any kind of insect and their first reaction is to get to the local garden center for a pesticide and kill off all the insects immediately. Instead, closely observe the insects and see what they are doing. Are they eating away all the leaves and completely destroying it or are they just taking a few small bites from the leaves. Most plants can survive minor damage like this. Insects often target sickly plants so your first priority would be to keep your plants strong and healthy. Next, create a water source near your garden to entice the natural insect predators. Try to entice birds, frogs, lady bugs and the like to take up residence near your garden so they can feast on the pests. You can also flank your garden with flowers that have smaller blossoms that will attract other predatory insects to come and feast on your pests.

Other methods of keeping pests at bay would be incorporating sticky traps, netting or other coverings or plant collars to keep the pests away from your plants. If the pest invasion is swift and calls for quick, invasive action, then you can resort to other natural products that will not harm pets, wildlife or even humans. You can use hot pepper sprays to irritate the pests and garlic and some horticultural oils work well and sending the pests on their merry way.

So now that we know what to do with pests, how do we handle diseases? The best way is to not let the disease start. That’s a pretty lame answer but you can minimize disease by selecting varieties of tomatoes that resist disease. Look at the tag on the plant to find a disease resistant variety. Plant them in a sunny location and give them plenty of room for the air to circulate. Many diseases begin because the plants remain too moist after a rain and do not dry out quickly enough so fungus creeps in and begins to rear its ugly head. At the first sign of disease, remove the afflicted leaf or stem or even an entire plant, if needed, to try to keep the disease from spreading.

One of the goals of organic gardening is to build up nutrient rich soils so the plants are fed slowly through the natural decomposing that takes place. There may be times when an additional boost is needed and you can supplement feeding with natural liquid fertilizers which are derived from fish processing waste combined with other natural and organic matter.

Work hard to build up your nutrient rich soil which is the foundation for growing your completely organic tomato plants. Doing this will give you a great sense of accomplishment and pride knowing you are doing your part to preserve the environment.