Saving Tomato Seeds

There’s a little fruit and vegetable shop on my way to the lake.  They usually have two kinds of tomatoes – one that’s big and bright red, the other is almost a grayish shade of red and smaller.  The former looked more appealing, but on my first visit, I decided I would try both.  I’m really glad that I did.

Since that time, I’ve got back specifically for the smaller tomato, which I now know is called pomidor malinowy or raspberry tomato.  I’ve never heard of that name in English, and my google research brought me to a tomato forum, where I learned that there are two varieties of Polish tomatoes called malinowy.

I like these tomatoes because they have a great flavor and unlike many tomatoes there isn’t a huge, hard core running through the center.  They slice very nicely.  I’ve saved the seeds from five or six of these tomatoes. Now that I know the name, I guess I can also check for a packet of seeds at the plant nursery.

Here’s the process for saving seeds if you want to try it:

Slice the tomatoes in half (horizontally) and scoop out the seeds.  Put all of that a jar and add a couple tablespoons of water.  Cover the jar with plastic wrap, put a small slit in the plastic wrap to allow for some air movement.  Leave this on the counter  for 3 or 4 days, swirling the mixture twice a day.

Fermentation will be taking place in the jar and it will remove the gelatinous seed coating.  I had been expecting a big, bubbly, stinky mess, but no such luck.  Very quiet tomato fermentation, but it did the trick.

On day number 4, I poured all of the liquid through a strainer.  Any bits of tomato flesh rinsed away easily.

After dripping into the sink, I spread out the seeds as much as possible in the strainer and left it sitting on paper towel for a few hours.

The final step was to spread out the seeds on a piece of parchment paper and put them in the oven for about 24 hours with just the light bulb on.  As they dried, I rubbed clumps of seeds between my fingers to separate them.

It’s very important that the seeds be perfectly dry.  If they’re just a little damp, the could become moldy and diseased before you have a chance to plant them.  Once they’re dry, store in an envelope or a jar until ready to plant.