To be able to enjoy your favorite tomato every year, you can dry the seeds from the tomatoes and get your own tomato seeds. In our instructions, we show you how to proceed correctly when harvesting seeds.

By drying tomato seeds, you can obtain tomato seeds yourself

One often wonders why tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) on the market often taste like nothing more than a watery fruiting body. Anyone who remembers their childhood and grandma's aromatic tomatoes is not wallowing in unrealistic memories, but knows how tomatoes should actually taste. If you can call your own terrace, balcony or garden, growing delicious tomatoes is not a problem. The best thing to do is experiment with a few well-established varieties and taste them with family and friends. Once you have found your favorite variety(s), you naturally want to cultivate it the following year.

Winning and drying tomato seeds yourself: Instructions

If you want to get seeds, you can leave one or two tomatoes hanging on the plant a little longer. It is best to pick the fruit only when it is overripe. This guarantees that the seeds are fully formed. Such seeds are much more germinable and vital later on. Cut the tomato in half to remove the seeds. The slippery seeds are best laid out on a small piece of baking paper and left to dry thoroughly. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to laboriously remove the gelatinous mass from the seeds. Once this has dried, it protects the seed and ensures a good shelf life. The tomato seeds must be very well dried before they can be packed and stored over the winter.

The small, well-dried pieces of baking paper can be packed in a suitable foil bag with a clip closure and then written on with a water-insoluble pen (variety name and year of harvest). If the seeds are hermetically sealed and stored in a dry, cool and dark place, you can sit back and relax. This is how tomato seeds last at least five years. However, you should not freeze the tomato seeds, because theyare not used to cold temperatures.

Tip: Homegrown tomato seeds of an old variety are a great gift for all hobby gardeners!

Tomato Seed Summary:

  1. Select and grow a solid seed variety, not an F1 hybrid
  2. Harvest overripe fruit and cut in half
  3. Remove seeds with a spoon and spread on baking paper
  4. Air Dry Tomato Seeds
  5. Fill in bags, label and store in a cool, dry place for up to 5 years

Benefits of Obtaining Tomato Seeds

Tomato seeds are very easy to harvest and dry yourself. Depending on the type of fruit, whether cocktail or beefsteak tomato, the number of seeds varies. Usually there are so many that you can get seeds for the next few years from a single fruit. Tomato seeds can germinate for about 5 years if they are stored in a dry and cool place. Compared to other types of vegetables, they are real late risers and germinate quite reliably even after a long time. A nutrient-reduced, air- and water-permeable potting soil, such as our Plantura organic herb and seed soil, also supports the germination of the tomato seeds. Tomatoes are mostly self-pollinating, which guarantees that the same variety will emerge again next year.

Modern varieties are often called F1 hybrids. These hybrids are purposeful crosses from two genetically different parents that bring disease resistance or high yields with them, for example. If the flowers of a hybrid strain are pollinated, there will be a wild mixing of the parent genes. The properties of the next generation will most likely differ from the F1 hybrid, true cultivar preservation is not possible here.

The biggest advantage of well-established varieties is therefore the authenticity of the seeds. If a true seed variety pollinates itself, no new genes are rolled through, but the current combination of properties is retained. In this way, seeds for the next year can be obtained from the older varieties, which correspond exactly to the mother plant. This also saves you the cost of buying the seeds again, while also propagating a variety that is perhaps decades old and preserving the great variety of tomato varieties.

If you have a favorite tomato variety, you can use the harvested fruit to obtain seeds for the coming season

Win tomato seed: the advantages at a glance

  • Easy removal and drying of seeds
  • Shelf life of up to 5 years if stored properly
  • Own propagation of seed resistant varieties
  • No costs for repurchase and preservation of cultural property

You can find out how to grow small tomato plants from the collected seeds next year in our article on sowing tomatoes.

Category:

Vegetables