Learn how to save tomato seeds from tomatoes in your garden. Watch our video, its super easy to do. Tomato seed saving works best with heirloom and non-hyrid tomatoes. Seeds saved from hyrbrid tomatoes will not yield the same tomato variety.
Save Tomato Seeds For Next Season
Simple right? Its not hard to save tomato seeds . The key thing to remember is to not use any of the seeds that are still floating in the tomato water after 3-4 days. These saved seeds will not germinate, as they still have that gelatinous membrane around them. There will be plenty of seeds at the bottom of your tomato seed container to dry for next year’s crop.
Remember to dry the seeds on plain copy paper, not paper towels. The saved seeds will stick to the paper towels, they stick less to the regular paper. It helps greatly to write on the paper what kid of tomato the seeds are saved from. Learn from my experience…
I keep all my seeds in the fridge or in a cool dry dark place in the basement. Save those silica gel packs from electronics packages, and put them in with the seeds, they absorb moisture from the stored seeds. You can also buy silica gel at a crafts store. Are there other methods for absorbing moisture in the seed packets? Let us know below.
Here’s how one GF viewer saves tomato seeds:
I save those but I keep them in a different fashion. If I find a tomato I like (heirloom, hopefully) I take a color photo of it before I cut the tomato. I then proceed to save the seed. I dry them on a plate myself. Once dried for a few days I make a small wax paper envelope, put the seed in and then staple it to the photo. If there’s some quality about the tomato I write that and the name, if I know the name, onto the photo. That’s my system for saving.
You might also consider doing a seed exchange with your friends, its a neat way to discover local specialty seeds. Or this could be the start of a new hobby of cross breeding tomatoes to create new varieties that work best in your micro climate. Neat stuff all round. Fedco Seeds has some great heirloom tomato seeds. Let us know your seed saving ideas below:
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geof
Nice
Would be great to follow up on the success of these seeds, Next year’s season?
JillEM
What exceptionally great timing – one of the other students in the Master Gardener class just gave me three tomatoes from her garden to save the seeds. I was going to have to look for a video explanation of the process. Good going, Mr. and Mrs. Eric – you are my heroes! How about peppers, ssquash, and other annual vegetables – are there any tricks there?
Heather Clark
Thanks for the tomato seed saving segment. I would love it if you did more videos on seed-saving because buying seeds is so expensive these days! We have arugula plants and lettuces that have gone to seed in our garden. I’ve been meaning to get out there to collect them, but am not really sure what I’m doing. They were purchased from Seed Savers Exchange, so I’m hopeful that they could be viable for another few years.
Thanks again!
Eric Gunnar Rochow
we have kale that has gone to seed, so we are working on that, thanks! eric.
Abigail
Thanks for this basically very easy to do tomato seed saving project. I tried to do it by washing off the “slimy” stuff that keeps the tomato from germinating and it worked too. What is done in your video that I did not do right?
I second the comment by Heather Clark and have more vids about seed saving. Very worthwhile and saves money too. Plus I guess it gives a person a feeling of really growing something from a to z and be a little farmer boy or girl. Better than buying can do and a lot healthier too! Thanks for the video.
I sometimes (rarely) have tomatoes that if sliced show greeny stuff in it: germinated? How come? Tried to plant it but did nothing. Hmmm. So much for doing something without getting info first…..And the dogs are the neighborhood gang or yours?
Eric Gunnar Rochow
thanks for the thoughts here abigail, we have the two yellow labradors, and Moose and Annie are the neighbor dogs who visit us on the weekends. they are great fun, thx, eric.
anne
Great information except my dogs love tomatoes and would be right there to get the left over meaty portion.
anne
Great information except my dogs love tomatoes and would be right there to get the meaty leftover
Eric Gunnar Rochow
our pups love cherry tomatoes! eric.
Thomas
Another great way of absorbing moisture is using rice.
Eric Gunnar Rochow
Good point. I should have said that in the video. I tried to save my cell phone when i ran it through the washer using rice. Eric.
Nell
I just stir the seeds in water until the jell releases from the seeds.