Obtaining and storing tomato seeds: this is how you proceed

Seeds for tomato plants are needed every year. Unfortunately, this favorite vegetable is only an annual. Obtaining free tomato seeds from your own fruit is possible. But there are a few points to consider!

Seed-free tomato varieties and F1 hybrids

Of all tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) Seeds can be obtained. But not all germinate good or produce young plants that are similar to the mother plant in all characteristics. It depends on what type of tomato you are growing. A seed variety or an F1 hybrid created through breeding.

• only true-to-seed (seed-resistant) varieties are suitable
• these are mostly heirloom tomato varieties such as b. Ox heart
• new plants are identical to the mother plant
• F1 hybrids are not seed-true
• Young plants may have other (undesirable) characteristics

Select tomato plant and fruit

Even if the variety you are growing is seed-resistant, you should not use every tomato fruit for seed production.

• Select a healthy, high-yielding tomato plant
• with good tasting fruits
• the tomato fruit should be fully ripe

Appropriate timing

The important thing is that the fruit is fully ripe. You can go straight to it Beginning of the harvest season Obtain seeds or wait until autumn and use one of the last fruits. In autumn, however, there is a risk that the last fruits will no longer be able to ripen properly due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Instructions for obtaining tomato seeds

Tomato fruits produce a lot of seeds inside. For the home garden, a single fruit is usually enough to produce enough seeds for a year of gardening. Since the seeds are only sown many months later, the seeds must be obtained in such a way that the seeds obtained remain germinable for a long time after they have been removed.

Remove seeds from the fruit

1. Cut the selected tomato lengthwise. Depending on size, into two or more parts so that all fruit chambers are exposed.
2. Hold a piece of tomato over a fine-mesh sieve to catch any small seeds that fall out. The sieve should also be large enough to be able to carry out further processing steps without the seeds falling out of the sieve.
3. Now use a teaspoon to scrape out the watery pulp in which the seeds are embedded from the inside of a piece of tomato.
4. Remove the seeds from each tomato piece one at a time.
5. Remove the tomato mixture that still has the fresh seeds in it. The easiest way to do this is to apply light pressure to the mixture with the back of a spoon. This will push the tomato mixture through the sieve while the solid seeds remain in the sieve.
6. Rinse the seeds well under running water to remove any remaining tomato residue. At the end there should only be seeds in the sieve.

Remove germ-inhibiting layer

The cleaned tomato seeds are now surrounded by a slimy layer that inhibits germination. Start a fermentation process to break down the germ-inhibiting substances.

1. Place the rinsed tomato seeds in a bowl.
2. Cover them with lukewarm water.
3. Let the mixture rest in a warm place for about ten hours.
4. Then stir the mixture well for 1-2 minutes. To do this, use the hand mixer, which you set to the highest level.
5. Let the mixture steep for another ten hours.
6. Then place the seeds in a large, narrow-meshed sieve and rinse them thoroughly with water until all loosened remains of the germ layer are washed away. You can remove stubborn residues mechanically with a kitchen brush.

Dry seeds

To prevent the seeds from becoming moldy during storage, they must be completely dry.

1. Cover a flat plate with several layers of paper towels.
2. Spread the seeds over a large area.
3. Allow the seeds to dry in a warm, airy place for several days.

Store tomato seeds properly

When you are sure that the tomato seeds are completely dry, place them in a clean, dry screw-top jar or paper bag. The optimal storage location until sowing is cool, dry and dark.

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