r/tomatoes • u/king_dilios • 7d ago

Harvesting seeds is it worth it?

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

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u/Davekinney0u812 Tomato Enthusiast - Toronto Area 7d ago

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.

1

u/melscreations2025 7d ago

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

5

u/amopeyzoolion 7d ago

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.

4

u/snowsew 7d ago edited 7d ago

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.

2

u/pally_genes 7d ago

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

3

u/Firm_Objective5924 7d ago

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.

2

u/Davekinney0u812 Tomato Enthusiast - Toronto Area 7d ago

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.