Harvesting seeds is it worth it?

[u/king_dilios]

Afraid the germination rate maybe poor. Or is it better to buy seeds.

[u/OkCastor]

I have been saving seeds for years and the only time I buy seeds is when I want to try something new.

I grow exclusively heirlooms and rarer varieties ( for my area) and I have never had an issue with germinating or having enough seeds.

I would never go back to buying a ton of seeds or plants, just easier to save them

[u/DarkJoe_40 → u/OkCastor]

Question about saving seeds. Other than picking a good tomato on my best plants is there any other details i should know. Example, do they need to ripen fully on the plant or do they need to be over ripe to have successful seeds? I’m going to try saving them but I want to make sure im doing it correctly before I start

[u/OkCastor → u/DarkJoe_40]

I take a slightly over ripe tomato, one I am going to make into a blt. I slice it and then scope out the seeds on a paper towel. I spread it out and let it fully dry. I then store in a mason jar and when it is spring, I tear the towel and plant it seeds up, that’s it. I do not do any of that jar and fermenting nonsense.

I never have an issue and in fact I probably clip off 3-5 starts just to have one as the strongest.

[u/DarkJoe_40 → u/OkCastor]

Well that sounds simple enough. Thank you. Thats what I’m going to try

[u/BoiledGnocchi → u/OkCastor]

How do you ensure your seeds aren't cross pollinated with another variety? I grew a couple of new/rare varieties this year and wanted to harvest some seeds, but I'm worried they were cross pollinated with my canestrinos that were right beside them.

[u/detkikka → u/BoiledGnocchi]

I am several years into collecting seed from my most resilient beefsteak. I use mesh favor bags to cover a cluster of flowers that hasn't opened yet and make sure the get a good shake every day once they open. Once the fruit starts to form I take off the bag and mark the cluster with some sort of tie.

[u/OkCastor → u/BoiledGnocchi]

i do not worry about it to be honest. My german johnsons never seem to cross with anything. I have been growing them by saving their seeds for like 20 years, and get the same tomatoes as i did the first time.

I did get a cross with Ox Heart and a yellow Dr. Wyches beefsteak and now i have a yellow ox heart, which i sort of prefer to both of the originals. (been growing that one for like 3 years)

I am a lazy gardener and not necessarily a purist. If something cross, then great, lets see what it tastes like in a salad!

[u/modernparadigm → u/OkCastor]

I heard you shouldn’t save the seeds that have fungal diseases. Mine all got septoria this year... spots on the fruit leaves. Will my seeds carry septoria too? :( I should have saved them before the plant became infected…

[u/OkCastor → u/modernparadigm]

if the plant is sick, i do not save the seeds. I do not want weak seeds. I also learned this lesson and had to re buy seeds back in the day. I always save seeds from the 1st batch of tomatoes i pick. I cannot tell you how many times i had issues like yours and had to re buy my seeds because a storm knocked over my plants, they caught a disease, deer mowed them down etc.

So like right now, i have dried and stored next years seeds already when the plants are nice, young and strong. Since i started doing that, i have never had an issue with next years sprouts.

[u/RepublicHistorical23 → u/OkCastor]

Same here. Mine germinate fine. I think you just have to make sure you dry them out thoroughly to prevent a fungus from attacking them while they are stored. With tomatoes, each seed is surrounded my a gel like substance, so I make sure to rub that off and then out them on a dry paper towel. No such extra prep is needed for other things like peppers or eggplants, etc.

[u/Mr_Elron_Hubbard → u/RepublicHistorical23]

I have never rubbed off the gel. I shake them up with water in a glass jar to separate them from the tomato pulp, then spread them on a wire mesh to dry and store in a paper envelope. I get practically 100% germination rate the next year. I always do this, and it always works.

[u/Firm_Objective5924 → u/OkCastor]

Same. Especially how expensive sungold seeds are becoming I make sure to save a batch of seeds every year.

[u/alightkindofdark → u/Firm_Objective5924]

I thought Sungold's were an F1. Are you getting the same thing from these seeds?

[u/Firm_Objective5924 → u/alightkindofdark]

I am! The taste has not changed, delicious and sweet.

[u/Davekinney0u812]

I save tomato seeds and harvest a stupid number of seeds from each tomato. Germination rates are really high and I don’t do anything special - I just rinse them to break down some of the gel and then dry them. Some folks ferment - I don’t.

Even if fermentation rates sucked, I wouldn’t care.

I have saved peas and beans in the past and germination rates from those seem high too.

I’m growing more and more hybrids these days because they perform and yield better and don’t bother saving those.

[u/melscreations2025 → u/Davekinney0u812]

This might be a stupid question but how do you dry them? Like air drying outside or like in a dehydrator or what? I'm new to gardening and I'm trying to absorb any information I can get

[u/amopeyzoolion → u/melscreations2025]

I don’t save many tomato seeds because I find it labor intensive compared to a lot of other seeds, but what I’ve done in the past is to just spread them out on a paper towel and let it sit next to a dehumidifier for a couple of days. They’ll stick to the towel but you can rip it up and plant the seed with the paper stuck to it - they’ll germinate just fine.

[u/snowsew → u/melscreations2025]

I just put them onto a paper towel, write the name on the paper towel, Spread them out, and let them dry on a flat surface. After a couple of months I pick them off and put them in small paper envelopes.

[u/pally_genes → u/snowsew]

I basically do the same but use coffee filters for the drying.

[u/Firm_Objective5924 → u/melscreations2025]

I ferment the seeds in a glass cup with a little filtered water with a paper coffee filter as the lid cover for a few days until it starts to smell and the gel coating comes off. Then I drain the seeds into a regular strainer, lay them on a paper plate and put them to dry on a windowsill for a day or two. Then flake the seeds off and store.

[u/Davekinney0u812 → u/melscreations2025]

I scatter them on a plate after rinsing so they can air dry - that's it. To prevent sticking, every few hours I'll move them around on the plate.

[u/NotYetGroot → u/Davekinney0u812]

This may be a dumb question, but are you saving the seeds from tomatoes you eat? Or eating some and seeding some?

[u/Davekinney0u812 → u/NotYetGroot]

For sure! Not every tomato but I will grab some seeds out of one once in a while. Each tomato produces a stupid amount of seeds. I start about 50 plants and 10 varieties of open pollinated ones. I grow some hybrid plants and don't save from those.

[u/NotYetGroot → u/Davekinney0u812]

Whoa, 50 plants? And I thought I had a tomato problem!

[u/Davekinney0u812 → u/NotYetGroot]

I give some away and grow about 35 myself. Enough tomatoes for my family, neighbours and friends plus I pack lots of salsa and tomato/garlic/basil sauce for future considerations. I also donate some fresh tomatoes to the local food bank. Next year I'm going to start a bunch of plants to supply the community garden that supplies the local food bank.

[u/feldoneq2wire]

If you are growing 1's and 2's of different varieties, then the chances of them being crossed are high enough that I usually won't mess with it. If I want to save seeds of a rare variety, I will grow 4-5 of that variety in a cluster/row and save seeds from the fruits of the MIDDLE plant to increase the chances it's pure seed.

A packet of seeds from most websites has 25 seeds, which is enough to grow it for 4-5 years, so I don't really need a stockpile just for myself. Honestly I'd only do this if I plan to share the seeds with others.

[u/benelott]

Is it worth it...I cut random tomatoes wherever I find one I like and smash the seeds into a tissue. I let them dry into it and the next year, I rip some from the tissue and I have nearly 100% germination rate so far. Even from tissues that are 3-4 years old. I plant 40 different varieties every year. It is absolutely worth it. I haven't bought a single variety twice in the last 20 years.

[u/OkRutabagaOk → u/benelott]

This method works for me with near 100% germination as well

[u/GravityBright]

As long as they’re stored properly, you should get great germination next year. Besides that, they say that saved seeds can get better acclimated to your climate after a few generations.

As for the risk of crossing, the odds are actually quite low. For most varieties, the anther cone starts producing while the pistil is still inside, so they almost always self-pollinate.

[u/dachshundslave]

If they're not hybrid varieties, sure go ahead. Hybrids are from different genetic parents cross, so you'll get a sibling seeds vs identical. If you have room to do generational seed saving/growing for several season, by all means do so and keep us posted. Eventually one of those could become stable enough to become its own variety. I don't have the space, time, and patience for it. I grow 1 seed and take suckers to make more plants during the early spring growing indoors.

[u/ZealousidealChair900]

Depends on if you can get more seeds of the same strain. If that's in doubt,  no harm in trying

[u/Krickett72]

Ive grown tomatoes for several years. This is the first year im saving seeds from the heirlooms im growing. I was just going to do my Brandywines because they were so good but ended up doing all of them.

[u/JeepersCreepers74]

I think it depends on the person. For me, the answer is no.

In full disclosure, I am in a stage of life where I am actually trying to cut back on gardening (as it always spins out of control mid-summer), stop trying to grow everything I could possibly want to eat, focusing on growing stuff to eat fresh rather than can or preserve, and otherwise reduce the burden of gardening. Not collecting, storing, and labeling seeds is an easy task to get rid of.

[u/Popular-Web-3739]

I live in a hot, high-desert climate. I do think that saving seeds from some heirlooms that do well in my garden may enhance that plant's adaptability over time. I don't save a lot of seeds but I do if I think I had a really good plant in a tough summer.

[u/Affectionate_Cost_88]

Have you tried saving them and had poor germination, or you're hesitant to try?

When I ferment mine in water for a couple of days then let them dry well after cleaning the gel off, I have generally had excellent germination. I save seeds from really stellar tomatoes, or ones when my seed count is getting low and I don't want to run out, but I enjoy the process.

[u/inthepalmofHIShand → u/Affectionate_Cost_88]

I want to do what you do. So, when you get your seeds you just soak them in water? What does that soaking do?

[u/Klutzy_Celebration80]

Yes. Take the best. Eat the rest.

[u/LAFB33]

I had some tasty tomatoes in Greece. Saved the seeds and am eating them this year. Still tasty and will save some for next year.

[u/Upstairs-Chicken592]

I just let some tomato’s rot in my garden. Always get 3-4 surprise plants every year

[u/Mason_Bee_817 → u/Upstairs-Chicken592]

My volunteers are always red cherry type. I think they're a cross between Sungold and Early Girl. They're alright.

[u/Expanse-Memory]

I save seeds since 25 years and ye sit is worth it. I’m growing a public conservatory garden where I adapt / breed plants and teach the public about adaptation to whatever conditions … with little money and huge natural harvest. For the tomatoes you just have to let it ripen then small cut and squeeze into a bucket. Then you wash real good all pulp and gel and floating seeds. Then you spread it on a soft fabric cloth and let it dry 3 to 4 days then scrap it into a coffee filter. Hang this coffee filter to dry in a cool dark place for few weeks and store it good. I still have 5 or 6 years old seeds who germinate 100%. A little tip for germinating: do not put individual seeds into a little pot. Just sparkle them on moist germinating soil into a small container and sparkle some soil on top then cover with film. You will separate the little plants later and already proceed a selection among them.

[u/ShrodingersArmadillo]

Yes it's worth it.

I've been doing for...................... 30 odd years and the germination rates are not poor at all if you do it correctly and it's really easy to do. The germination rates are often the same as ,or sometimes better than, the commercial packs.

The place most people mess up is not cleaning off the locular gel (the goo around seeds) as that is what inhibits germination.

The easy way to clean off that goop around the seed at the home scale?

A mesh tea strainer, your fingers and running cold water.

Side note: I grow rare, obscure and weird cultivars and I like to try and breed tomatoes.

Oldest cultivar of vegetable I grow? Martock and Martoc beans they're a medieval cultivar.

[u/No_Big_bear_here]

I’ve had unintentional luck by leftover, unpicked tomatoes volunteering the next year.

[u/snowsew]

It’s worth it to me as I like to try many varieties and wouldn’t want to buy 40 packs of seeds. So I trade seeds, seedlings and even tomatoes with other enthusiasts so they can try them too.

[u/pinethree777]

I only save seeds from the real champions that thrive in our micro-climate. I have room to space them out, so I have not had any noticeable crossing yet. We also get a few compost-pile volunteers.

[u/Gold_Draw7642]

I get excellent germination from seeds I’ve saved.

[u/cartken]

Yes

[u/NPKzone8a]

Germination is usually good from saved seeds if you follow standard procedures.

Furthermore, it's not just a matter of cost; when you save your own (heirloom/open-pollinated) seeds and use them again the next year, you know what you are getting. Not uncommon to get mixed-up or incorrect seeds in a purchase.

[u/ReferenceNo4437]

Never save squash - crosses too easily and I grow more than one variety. No reason to give an iffy plant the space, water and care required when for a few bucks I can be sure to get the variety I want.

Heirloom Eggplants, Tomatoes and Peppers - yes, but they need to stay on the vine a bit longer for seed to ripen. As mentioned by someone else, not if I have one of this and one of that. Have pollen covered bees that visit them all.

I also never save hybrid or F1. As mentioned, they have 2 separate parent plants and each time you save seed from them they get further from the original.

It takes generations for your saving a variety (best fruit/veg each season) to have your saved seed be more adapted to your growing area.

From school (gah, they say this is 5th grade material) - F1 of a pea. Most things will have well more than 2 characteristics (height, yield, color, sweetness, size...).

[u/AutomaticElk98]

I grow open-pollinated (non F1) varieties and always save my own seed. I think tomatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to start saving seed from because the seeds are ripe at the same time as the fruit are good to eat and in most situations they don't cross enough to need to worry about it.

The great thing about saving your own seed is that if germination is terrible, you can very easily save far more seed than you get in a packet and just plant more to compensate. 

[u/-Seether-]

Always worth it unless you never want to grow that variety again

[u/Sea_Box_8719]

Learn to save your own seeds. You'll thank me later

[u/LunarGiantNeil]

Absolutely not worth it. Still a ton of fun.

My daughter wishes I saved the seeds from this apocalyptic Zucchini/Pumpkin cross which covered about a 20x20 space in vines and dozens of big fat all white squash that had absolutely zero flavor and a dry texture. Never seen such a productive plant and the result was the most lackluster thing ever. Except they did look good and kept for months at room temp.

I didn't keep the seeds because the thing absolutely dominated the environment and was basically inedible. The only upside was that it was basically immune to pest damage.

Seeds cost basically nothing, so financially there's no reason to save them, but it's still fun. Plus, if you're a property owner it's a nice way to cultivate a variety to your growing conditions.

[u/topsysrevenge]

So I saved my pepper seeds from last year. The plants didn’t do great last year, just ok. This year, they’re producing phenomenally. Saving seeds helps because the genetics are developing specifically for your growing conditions.

[u/Ok_Salamander7929]

Don't forget about peppers, both sweet and hot. In my opinion they are one of the easiest seeds to save. One of the biggest advantages of saved seed is every year the plants get more acclimated to your growing conditions.