Why ferment tomato seeds

As I said, no easy task. The stuff surrounding the seeds actually inhibits germination. It prevents the seeds from germinating while they are still in the tomato. This article may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy from my partners, I will make a tiny amount of money. This in no way affects my recommendations. I just remove the seeds and smear them on a paper towel. Germination rates when I use this methods are very high. Some of my best plants started this way. Which is Better for Starting Seeds?

To summarise the test, a fermentation period of 36 to 72 hours is the ideal. Much longer and the seed quality will be reduced. Mould in varying degrees will form on top of the seed mixture see picture below which is fine. STEP 5 This step is intended to remove the goo surrounding the seeds and any mould which may have formed.

Fill the jar with water tap water is fine at this stage and shake the jar with a lid on it of course! Pour off the top liquid leaving the seeds in the jar. Repeat this four or five times until the liquid is running clear and the goo is removed. Tomato seeds which float after cleaning are, in all probability, defective. Pour the liquid and seeds into a fine sieve or tea leaf strainer.

Rinse gently with running water until the seeds are clean. You may need to fish out the odd lump of tomato flesh. STEP 6 You now need to dry the seeds. The plan is to place the seeds on a surface which will absorb some of the liquid and then leave them on a plate to dry out completely.

Don't place them on paper towels because as they dry they will stick to the surface. Some recommend coffee filter paper which is fine if you have it. We place the seeds out on cheap paper, the envelopes from marketing blurb which comes through the post are ideal as long as they aren't glossy.

Leave the seeds there for an hour or so and then tip them onto a plate to dry out completely. STEP 7 Tomato seeds in good condition will store for five years or more in the correct conditions. When the seeds are completely dry put them in a marked dated and variety name paper envelope another use for the marketing "blurb" which drops through your letter box!

Sometimes life throws a wobbly and things don't work out as expected. For this reason we suggest that you test a few of your saved seeds at this stage to ensure they will germinate successfully. Wait for a week and during that time you should see a little sprout appear from the side of each seed which indicates that they have germinated successfully. Before spring the next year, I tear off a piece of paper towel with a couple seeds and plant that. I have never had a problem in my 50 years of gardening.

I am doing this fermenting process for 4 kinds of seeds brought home from Italy. Wont be going this winter to get more seeds. I have stored the paper towel in the mailing envelope and grown tomatoes from those seeds every year since.

I put either a small amount of a gritty toothpaste or a squirt of an anti-bacterial soft soap in it and rub the seeds around. Then I rinse them, press them to remove more water, then smack them into the palm of my hand. The fermenting for 2 to 4 days works perfect. Thanks for the thoughts. I have tried to let my fish eat the tomato meat and then scoop up the clean seeds guppy easier than most other methods and get nice clean seeds what people want. A video on YT showed someone slicing up what looked like a fresh tomato.

If it was starting to rot, there might have been fermentation. Then plant the slices to get sprouts. Another point.. Did the slices ferment? Either way… it worked. I soak the seed in water for a couple of hours, rub in a sieve under running water, soak in a weak ammonia solution for 20 minutes 1 teaspoon Janola in a cup of water , rinse, then dry on wax paper.

Seed in now clean without gel I store the dried seed in envelopes in a biscuit tin in a cool cupboard in the laundry until the next season. A gardener I interviewed used a slightly different method.

She washed the seeds in a colander and put the seeds into a Mason jar with just enough water to cover them, shaking the jar every so often to prevent the seeds from floating to the top. After mold forms, she let the seeds dry. If there is no washing step, the dried seeds would be covered with flesh ,seed gel and mold. Thanks for your suggestion. This was the first and only time I heard about this method of saving seeds.

As I have favourite open pollinated tomatoes, I save tomato seeds every year. In my opinion, fermentation removes germination inhibitors and the gelatinous sheath from seeds. Also, it may treat some seed-borne diseases. My experience says that seeds saved using fermentation method remain viable for over five-six years.

If properly stored, of course. I have been using the fermentation method for 20 years and I have never used another. So I can not compare. But, I never had problems with the germination of my tomato seeds. On the contrary, my seeds are full viable after years. The record is As a child in india, we just washed the seeds dried in sun and planted Ll the seeds — most — same way One year with pumpkin our roof nearly caved in. Press here to subscribe. Garden Myths - Learn the truth about gardening.

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