If you have newly discovered delicious varieties and don't want to buy seeds again next year, you can reserve some tomatoes for the seed harvest. There are a few things to take into account so that the offspring bear equally delicious fruit.
How to properly harvest and store tomato seeds?
To harvest tomato seeds, choose heavy-bearing plants with overripe fruits, remove seeds with pulp, put them in a glass of water, let them ferment, separate seeds from pulp, rinse, dry on paper towels and store in a paper bag or container.
Suitable plants
In principle, all tomato plants are suitable for collecting seeds. If you want to breed pure offspring of your tomatoes that develop the same characteristics as the mother plant, you should use seed-resistant varieties.
With F1 hybrids, there is a risk that the culture being bred will be characterized by poorer fruiting and growth characteristics. They follow the principle that the plants produce unique, reliable yields and that all tomatoes ripen evenly and uniformly. Old varieties such as 'Tigerella' and 'Black Krim' or the red wild tomato are a good choice for breeding.
Collecting seeds
Choose high-yielding plants with he althy and fully ripe fruits. Leave two to three specimens hanging until they are in the overripe stage. Harvest the tomatoes and halve them. Remove the seeds and pulp from the fruit and place the mixture in a glass.
Fill some water into the container and cover it with cling film. Fermentation processes begin in a warm place, during which the slimy and germ-inhibiting coat separates from the seeds. You can watch the seeds sink to the ground over the next day or two. As soon as they feel rough, they need to be dried.
How to proceed:
- Carefully pour off the water with the dissolved pulp
- Pour the seeds into a sieve and rinse off any remaining pulp under the tap
- Spread the seeds on kitchen paper to dry
- After drying, put it in a paper bag or a light-tight container
Tips for rare seeds
If you would like to expand your own seed collection and give away your own varieties in return, look for swap meets in your region. Here you will find breeds that have long been forgotten in the trade. Such platforms often offer real treasures and the plants are particularly well adapted to the prevailing climate thanks to regional breeding.