How to Save Tomato Seeds Without Fermenting Guide Donna Larson, August 30, 2024August 30, 2024 You’ve heard that you can save your own tomato seeds for next year, but do you know how to save tomato seeds without fermenting them? Learn the easiest way to save tomato seeds along with all the tips we have to guarantee success. How to Save Tomato Seeds Without Fermenting I’ve tried time and again to allow the fermentation process to work to save my tomato seeds. Sometimes it works for me; often times, however, I forget about them and end up with a mason jar of moldy water on my hands. Here are a few things that you should know before attempting to save your own tomato seeds. Jump down for the steps on how to do it now if you’re ready. What’s the Big Deal? Why Ferment Anyway? Tomato seeds have a gel-like sack coating them that work as germination inhibitors. Fermenting the seeds helps to break this down. However, in my experience, the coating comes off when it’s dried well. Fermenting is truly the best way to save seeds if you can remember to look after them. I can’t, hence the title here. Choosing Heirloom Varieties to Save First things first. You should choose tomatoes from open-pollinated varieties. These are tomato varieties that are pollinated naturally, either by wind, insects, or self-pollination. This natural pollination process allows the seeds from these tomatoes to produce plants that are true to type, meaning they will produce fruit that is consistent with the parent plant. Open-pollinated varieties are genetically stable. When you save seeds from an open-pollinated tomato plant and plant them the following year, the resulting plants will generally be similar to the parent plant in terms of characteristics like fruit size, shape, color, and flavor. Some Popular Heirloom Tomatoes These open-pollinated varieties are ideal for the Southern U.S. due to their heat tolerance, disease resistance, and ability to thrive in hot, humid conditions. Remember to provide adequate water, mulch, and shade as needed to protect the plants from extreme heat. 1. Arkansas Traveler Description: A pink, medium-sized tomato known for its excellent flavor and heat tolerance. Characteristics: Resilient in hot, humid weather; resistant to cracking. 2. Cherokee Purple Description: An heirloom variety with deep, dusky purple-pink skin and rich, sweet flavor. Characteristics: Performs well in hot climates; produces large, beefsteak-sized fruits. 3. Homestead Description: A red, medium-sized tomato that thrives in hot climates. Characteristics: Heat-tolerant and resistant to cracking; good for slicing and canning. 4. Bradley Description: A pink, smooth-skinned tomato developed in Arkansas, well-suited for the South. Characteristics: Heat-tolerant, disease-resistant, and produces uniform fruits. 5. Mortgage Lifter Description: Large, pink-red beefsteak tomatoes with a mild, sweet flavor. Characteristics: Performs well in the heat; produces large fruits that are great for slicing. 6. Creole Description: A red, medium-sized tomato developed specifically for hot, humid climates. Characteristics: Excellent flavor; performs well in Southern heat and humidity. 7. Black Krim Description: A dark, purple-black heirloom tomato with a rich, smoky flavor. Characteristics: Heat-tolerant; produces medium to large fruits. 8. Yellow Pear Description: Small, pear-shaped yellow tomatoes known for their mild, sweet flavor. Characteristics: Prolific producer; tolerant of heat and humidity. 9. Green Zebra Description: A unique, green-striped tomato with a tangy flavor. Characteristics: Heat-tolerant; produces small to medium-sized fruits. 10. Everglades Description: A cherry tomato variety that grows well in hot and humid climates. Characteristics: Highly heat-tolerant and disease-resistant; produces small, sweet fruits. 11. Abe Lincoln Description: Medium to large red tomatoes with good flavor and heat tolerance. Characteristics: Performs well in Southern heat; produces abundant fruit. 12. Rutgers Description: A red, medium-sized tomato developed for high yields and disease resistance. Characteristics: Tolerant of heat and humidity; good for canning and slicing. Most of these fully mature in 85 days max, so if you’re in the Northern US, and you have enough frost free days, feel free to give them a try. Selecting the Best Tomato Seeds to Save Select tomatoes from healthy, vigorous plants that show no signs of disease, pest damage, or nutrient deficiencies. This helps ensure that the seeds are free from pathogens and are more likely to produce strong plants. Consider plants that have shown desirable traits, such as high yield, good disease resistance, heat tolerance, or other qualities you want to preserve. Seeds from fully ripe, mature tomatoes are more likely to be viable and have a higher germination rate. Tomatoes should be fully colored and soft to the touch. Do not use under-ripe tomatoes, as their seeds may not be fully developed. Damaged or over-ripe tomatoes may have begun to deteriorate, which can affect seed quality. Choose fruits that are typical of the variety’s size, shape, color, and flavor. This ensures that the seeds will carry the desired characteristics of the variety. Do not save seeds from tomatoes that show unusual or undesirable traits, as these may indicate genetic variations or cross-pollination with another variety. Protecting Against Cross Pollination If you have several varieties growing in one place, you’ll need to protect your blooms from hybridizing with other open-pollinated tomatoes. You can easily do this by using simple mesh bags around your blooms to isolate them. Remember to give them a little tap so they’re sure to self-pollinate and give you fruit. How to Save Tomato Seeds Without Fermenting This is not rocket science. Even beginner seed-savers can handle these steps: Gather Your Tools and Material You’ll need: paper towel marker a knife water strainer your chosen tomato How to Harvest Seeds Slice your tomato in half and gently squeeze out the seeds into your strainer, over the sink. Give them a good rinse under running water. Make sure to remove any other tomato flesh from the collection of seeds. Spread out the seeds in a single layer on a paper towel, making sure they don’t touch one another. Write out the tomato variety on your paper towel. Set it aside, out of the way, in a dry place. That’s it. I like to place the paper towel on a paper plate for extra durability when moving them around. It’ll take a few weeks for them to fully dry and the gel coatings to come off. How to Store Seeds At this point, you can gently scrape each dried seed off of the paper and store them in paper envelopes if you’d like. I don’t even bother. I simply fold up the paper towel, place the whole thing in a plastic bag, and mark the bag with the variety and date saved. If I’m on my A-game, I’ll even add where I originally sourced the seed for the plant I plucked the saved fruit from. Always keep seeds in a cool, dry place. There is no need to store them in a freezer for long-term storage. How Long Will My Saved Seeds Last Your heirloom tomato seeds should last plenty long enough to grow for several seasons to come as long as they’re kept at room temperature or cooler. Using an airtight container such as a plastic bag, instead of a seed packet or envelope will help keep viable seeds longer. How to Plant Your Saved Seeds This is the best part. If you used the paper towel method for storage, like me, then you can easily tear it apart for planting next spring. The paper will help to keep the seed moist during germination. I’m not going to go into all of the details about growing tomato plants, but here’s a quick rundown: Start seeds in a warm place 4-6 weeks before last frost. Harden off plants before transplanting after your last frost. Tomato plants need direct sunlight. The best tomatoes will be evenly watered. You May Like These Posts to Help You Grow From Seed The Ultimate Seed Starting Guide The Best Tips For Starting Seeds Indoors The Best Bagged Soil For Tomatoes Best Liquid Fertilizer For Tomatoes Do Rabbits Eat Tomato Plants How To Trellis Tomatoes The Easy Way When To Pick Heirloom Tomatoes Printable Companion Planting Chart Free Square Foot Gardening Template Propagating Tomatoes If you want a jump start on the next season, you can propagate your tomato plants instead of starting over from seed. Home gardeners with a long growing season can easily do this to get two rounds of tomato crops in before the cold weather takes them out. Choose healthy, disease-free branches from your existing best plants. Cut them about 12 inches long. Remove any lower leaves or stems, and place them in a container of clean water. A mason jar works great. Change out the water regularly. Your tomato branches will begin to grow roots under the water. When the roots are a few inches long, plant them in your garden or containers of soil. Make sure that you plant them deep to encourage a strong root system, and keep them watered well until they take off. Conclusion – How to Save Tomato Seeds Without Fermenting I hope that you’re encouraged to save your own seeds in the name of sustainability, cost efficiency, and good old fashioned DIY homesteading. It’s a good idea to save several heirloom varieties to decide which works best for you and your family. By following this seed-saving method every season, you’ll never need to buy new seed again. Happy Seed-Saving! Donna @ Hazel Belle Farm Donna and her family have been homesteading for most of their 20+ years together in some shape or fashion. She currently lives on their 20 acre farm where they grow as much food as possible. What started as a just a few laying hens, has grown into large gardens, pastured poultry, pork, and lamb. They are continuously evolving their small farm to not suit their family’s needs, but also providing to their local community. Donna’s favorite part of the family farm is her self-built micro-dairy, where she gets to love on dairy cows while serving her local community. Milking, cheesemaking, and processing dairy have become the soul of their homestead and the center of their farm. Gardening Homesteading