Have you fallen in love yet this summer...with a backyard heirloom tomato or pepper variety that you are growing for the first time?
There are hundreds of heirloom tomato and pepper varieties available as seeds, from specialty catalogs and better nurseries. Different shapes, different colors, different flavors. And when you find the ones you like the most, it's easy to save those seeds for future planting seasons.TOMATOES
Tomato flowers are both wind and insect pollinated. Although the tomato that forms on the plant you purchased or started from seed will be as advertised (we hope), the seeds inside that tomato you grew may be carrying the genetic makeup of whatever happened to originally pollinate that tomato flower. So, those Brandywines, Bloody Butchers and other heirloom tomatoes will contain seeds, if germinated, that might more resemble the tomato plant that resided next door to your favorite heirloom.
Yes, even tomato plants covet their neighbor's wife...with a little help from that devil of a bee.
Yes, even tomato plants covet their neighbor's wife...with a little help from that devil of a bee.
And forget about replicating this year's tomato garden next year if you are growing hybrid tomatoes. A hybrid tomato is made by crossing several different parent varieties. Even if grown in isolation, second generation hybrid tomato (and pepper) seeds usually do not come back as the same variety. You'll have to buy fresh seed next year to duplicate that exact hybrid tomato experience.
Plus, hybrid varieties of tomatoes offered for the home gardener have been bred for many of the same characteristics as the varieties grown by large agricultural interests: higher yields, disease resistance and broader climate adaptibility. As one study from the University of Texas suggests, the formation of nutrients in hybrid tomatoes for the home market may also be the sacrificial lamb in order for that plant to pump out a greater number of tomatoes.
Isolate your favorite heirloom tomato plant from other varieties to avoid possible cross pollination. Plant them by themselves about 30 feet away from other tomatoes. Not enough room? Surround the heirloom tomato plant with other tall growing vegetables, such as corn or pole beans.
If you already have your tomato plants crowded together, there is one trick you can try this year to get a crop of heirloom tomato seeds that are true to their parent: Put a small paper bag around any new blossom before it opens; after the tomato forms, remove the bag. This will keep the other varieties of tomato plant that might happen to be flowering at the same time from pollinating your favorite heirloom.
To save the seeds, pick the most luscious looking, ripe tomato. Cut it in half with a serrated knife at the equator and squeeze the pulp into a clean container. Place the filled container, with a lid loosely attached, in a warm location out of direct sunlight to promote fermentation, which helps dissolve the gel coating on the seed. Don't leave those seeds in the container for more than three days; they might germinate! Be sure the lid is loosely attached, allowing some air to escape. Fermentation could blow a secured lid off that sucker, creating quite a mess.
Stir it once or twice a day for a day or two, and then pour or scoop off the scum at the top of the container. This floating material will contain tomato chunks and the bad seeds.
Stir it once or twice a day for a day or two, and then pour or scoop off the scum at the top of the container. This floating material will contain tomato chunks and the bad seeds.
Then, add more water to the container and pour it through a screen or strainer. You may need to do this more than once or twice. It's just like panning for gold. Your treasure? Those nice, plump, healthy tomato seeds that will remain behind.
Wipe the bottom of the strainer with a towel and pour the seeds out onto a hard surface like a paper plate or a coffee filter. Don't lay them on a paper towel because the paper fibers will stick to the seeds.
The seeds will need to dry for a couple of days, up to a week. Keep the seeds out of the sun in a cool, dry place. You should also move around the individual seeds a couple times a day to prevent them from sticking to each other. This will help them dry evenly too.
Once they are completely dry, seal them in an airtight container. A glass jar is perfect for this. Adding a dessicant can help keep the moisture level down. Make sure to label them so you'll know what you're planting next spring and then store them in a cool, dry place, such as under your bed.
And now, you'll have your favorite heirloom tomato seeds, ready to plant for the next five to seven years, producing the most luscious, tastiest tomatoes that you'll ever savor. Nothing compares to the flavor of a homegrown tomato…especially if it's a nutritious heirloom tomato!
Here's a video of how to save tomato seeds:
PEPPER SEEDS
One of the best sources for heirloom seed saving information is The International Seed Saving Institute. They offer this information on saving pepper seeds:
"Most home gardeners will get satisfactory results if different varieties are separated by 50 feet and another tall, flowering crop. There are two methods, dry and wet, to process pepper seeds. The dry method is adequate for small amounts. Cut the bottom off the fruit and carefully reach in to strip the seeds surrounding the central cone. In many cases, seeds need no further cleaning. To process the seed from large amounts of peppers, cut off the tops just under the stem, fill a blender with peppers and water and carefully blend until good seeds are separated and sink to bottom. Pepper debris and immature seeds will float to the top where they can be rinsed away. Spread clean seeds on paper towel and dry in cool location until seed is dry enough to break when folded."
Store peppers seeds just like tomato seeds.
Thank you very much for your information! I have a yellow speckled roman tomato that was a surprise this year in the tomato bed, and was trying to figure out if it would breed true to type. I guess I will just save the seeds, and find out. :)
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