Old School – Self Reliance 101

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The process for saving tomato seeds is different than, say, cilantro or marigold seeds like we did on this page.

Ever notice how tomato seeds have a jelly-like substance on them? Sort of goobery? There’s actually a reason for it. That gelatiny goober keeps the tomato seeds from sprouting inside the tomato. Intelligent design!

So in order to save seeds for planting next year, you need to separate them from the goober, and there’s a particular way to do it.

Find a tomato that is your perfect ideal…one that represents all you desire in the tomatoes of your future, and cut it open.

Scoop out the seeds, goober and all.

Put them in a glass jar or dish. A canning jar or old pickle jar would work. Add some water, maybe a cup or so.

Cover it with a paper towel or cheesecloth if you want, and the Damsel says you do want. Because you don’t like fruit flies, and besides, this stuff is going to start stinking. Oh yes. Because you now have to put this aside and let it FERMENT. Fermentation separates the seeds from the goober. It’s going to take 2 to 4 days, so find an out of the way, warmish spot to let this sit…somewhere not right under your nose. Now you must wait. The Damsel hates waiting, has she mentioned?

A layer of mold will form on the top, and the seeds will sink to the bottom. It seems strange to want to grow mold, but press forward. The Damsel has seen pictures of healthy crops of mold with the tomato seed thing, and feels a little disappointed that her jar yielded only a small amount. But it did the job.

If you end up with a big furry thingy of mold on top, lift that off with a fork and get rid of it. Ew! If there’s just a little, don’t bother. Put some more water in the jar and shake to loosen the seeds from any remaining bits of pulp.

Pour off the liquid, and rinse with more water a couple more times. You can use a small mesh strainer if you like. The Damsel didn’t bother because her strainer was busy, and everything seemed to work out okay.

Spread the seeds out on a plate. A paper plate is good. Don’t use a paper towel, though, because the seeds will stick to it and you won’t like it. Nudge the little seeds apart from each other as best you can, and set the plate somewhere warm and dry. Shake the plate at least once a day to make sure nothing is sticking to anything else. This could take a while. Several days. But don’t try to hurry things along with heat, or you might kill the seeds. Just let it be. You’re not in a hurry, anyway, right? It will be 6 months or so before you’ll need these.

When they are completely dry you can put them in an envelope or whatever you like to keep them in until next spring. Your only remaining task is to make sure they don’t get damp, or all your hard mold-growing work will be in vain.