Seeds

[JackDidley]

I start a couple grape tomato plants every spring from seeds and they normally do pretty good. This year I started 6 or 8 plants and they came up 3 inches and died. Desperate, I went to Menards and bought a plant for $3. Best tomato plant ever. Started getting tomatoes in late June and it is still producing. Question is, how do I save some seeds from this plant for next year. I always just bought seed packs every couple years. I want to grow more like the current plant. Thanks.

[greglepore]

Just scrape out the seeds and dry on paper towels. They'll be sorta all stuck together, which is fine. If you want nice individual seeds like from the store, you need to ferment them - kind of a hassle, as the seeds will germinate without it.

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by greglepore

Just scrape out the seeds and dry on paper towels. They'll be sorta all stuck together, which is fine. If you want nice individual seeds like from the store, you need to ferment them - kind of a hassle, as the seeds will germinate without it.

Thanks. I did a search and found the ferment info. I think I will try your way. Only need a couple plants or one like this one. I let it spread out and it got big and produced an abundance of great fruit.

[masraum]

My mom used to work at the commissary on a military base. For a while, they were letting her take home all of the produce that they throw out due to age. She was putting it in her compost pile. My parents said that they got better tomatoes out of the plants that grew out of the compost pile than the plants in their garden (FL, soil that was basically all sand other than the compost that they mixed in).

What's interesting, is that I've heard/read that for a lot of fruits (like avocados for one) if you grow a plant from a seed you may not get a plant that produces fruit like the one that you ate. I'm guessing tomatoes aren't like that.

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by masraum

My mom used to work at the commissary on a military base. For a while, they were letting her take home all of the produce that they throw out due to age. She was putting it in her compost pile. My parents said that they got better tomatoes out of the plants that grew out of the compost pile than the plants in their garden (FL, soil that was basically all sand other than the compost that they mixed in).

What's interesting, is that I've heard/read that for a lot of fruits (like avocados for one) if you grow a plant from a seed you may not get a plant that produces fruit like the one that you ate. I'm guessing tomatoes aren't like that.

I used to get lots of volunteer plants but the last couple years I have used landscape fabric to keep the weeds out so that does not happen. Hybrid seeds revert back to the original fruit. Flowers do the same. I once bought yellow rose bushes and the next year they came back red. No more flowers for me. I wish I knew what breed this tomato plant is I would just buy the same next year.

[cjh]

My wife plants a Cherry tomato & a Roma tomato plant every year. In the fall after the first freeze, I rip them out by the roots and throw the remains into the compost bin. This year, I had a tomato plant that came up from a tomatoes that got raked or blown into the bed where I have a bunch of iris's planted and it has hundreds of tomatoes on it and covers about 24 square feet because it spread out all over the place and rooted itself where ever it liked. The neighbor are happy with the unexpected bounty.

[Bill Douglas]

It's spring here now. A month ago I planted 11 cherry tomato plants. They are growing at a crazy speed. This time I bought tomato mulch/mix and they seem to really like it. I can see baby tomatoes already but weeks away from eating stage.

Last year the plants went nuts and I was eating tomatoes fairly much every day for about 8 or 9 months. I'm surprised the season was that long.

[GH85Carrera]

You can do all the work and spend time and effort to save the seeds, or just go spend a whopping 3 bucks again next yer and have a plant rhat is health and ready. Just like this year.

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

You can do all the work and spend time and effort to save the seeds, or just go spend a whopping 3 bucks again next yer and have a plant rhat is health and ready. Just like this year.

I'd do that if I knew what plant to buy. There are lots of different cherry tomatoes.

[Superman]

Sometimes, with hybrid tomatoes, the babies don't do as well as the mommy did.

By far the best of the cherry tomatoes is one with fruit that is orange when ripe instead of red. They go by names like Sun Gold or Sun Sugar. Just REALLY delicious and the plant grows fast and produces several million tomatoes. Maybe more. Kidding of course. One of mine grew over 8 feet tall.

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by Superman

Sometimes, with hybrid tomatoes, the babies don't do as well as the mommy did.

By far the best of the cherry tomatoes is one with fruit that is orange when ripe instead of red. They go by names like Sun Gold or Sun Sugar. Just REALLY delicious and the plant grows fast and produces several million tomatoes. Maybe more. Kidding of course. One of mine grew over 8 feet tall.

That is how these are. They turn orange evenly. And it spread out over a 3' x 4' area 4 feet tall. Looks like 4 plants. Not to mention its near October and still producing.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Superman

Sometimes, with hybrid tomatoes, the babies don't do as well as the mommy did.

Very true. If your tomatoes are a hybrid (and unless they were sold as an "heirloom" variety most of them are these days) the genetics of the seeds you save from them are a crap shoot. You may get good results or you may get squat.

[greglepore]

My fave grape tomato is Dr Carolyn-its on the yellow side but very tasty, prolific, and saute's well for a quick sauce.

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Very true. If your tomatoes are a hybrid (and unless they were sold as an "heirloom" variety most of them are these days) the genetics of the seeds you save from them are a crap shoot. You may get good results or you may get squat.

True, but it costs absolutely nothing to try. These are soooo good I have to try.