Cleaning Vegetable Seeds: Tomato

As I've mentioned before, my "expertise" lies in seed cleaning. I've been cleaning various seed (mostly vegetable and flower seed) for the past 6 years. As the weather starts to turn (yes I know it's still August - but I'm in NY and it's already been dipping into the 50s at night) this is my time to really start getting busy (hence the slackness in my posting frequency).

"How do I clean tomato seed?" is usually the most frequent question that I'm asked about at seminars or workshops... so here is the answer....

1 First thing you need to do is determine if the tomato you are growing is an OP (open pollinated) variety or a hybrid... if it's an OP - you are good to go and the seeds you get will be "true to type (ie: they will look like what you are expecting)... if you are dealing with a hybrid... uhhh pick another variety to start with... dehybridization takes more time (like years)

2 Select a few tomatoes from each plant and either squash the whole tomato (if you don't want to eat the flesh) or if you are like me... scoop the seeds out and place them in a mason jar and munch down on the yummy tomato that held your precious seeds :)

3 Once you get the seeds out, you'll notice that they are covered with a "jelly coat" - you can't store the seeds with that coat on because your seeds will mold and usually, molding seed is well, a bad thing - it's going to decrease your germination as well as increase the likelihood of introducing seed borne disease.

4 FERMENTATION: Place your seeds (with jelly coat) into a mason jar or bowl or some kind of container... add water (water to seed ratio should be about 3:1) if you are using the whole tomato smashed into a bucket your water to mashed pulp ratio should be about 2:1.

5 Stir and wait....

6 You should stir your mixture about 2 times a day for 3 days. Oh and I suggest you do this outside - the fruit flies LOVE fermenting tomatoes!!!

7 On the 3rd or 4th day, you'll notice a nasty moldy mess of slop on top of your mixture - you want to decant that slop. Basically, the viable seeds will sink while the moldy flesh and non-viable seed will float - so you want to get that floating stuff away from your good seed.

8 Once you have your "clean" seed nicely settled on the bottom of the container, you'll use a strainer (HINT: make sure the wholes of the strainer are SMALLER than your seed or everything you've none will go down the drain) to collect your seed.

9. If you have a small amount of seed, you can simply lay them out on a paper plate to dry OR if you have a lot of seed, you may want to try depositing the seed in a grape press bag or mesh bag and allow to air dry (ambient temp air).

10. Once the seeds are dried thoroughly - you need to get the little tiny hairs off them before you store them (the hairs suck moisture into the seed - something you don't want!). Rubbing the seeds in your hands, should be enough friction to remove the hairs. If you have them in a secure mesh bag, rub them together , then toss the whole bag into a clothes dryer ON NO HEAT! for a bit and you'll end up with all those tiny little hairs collected nicely in your lint filter :)

11. After you remove the seeds - you are all done but the storing... Place them in a coin envelope inside a mason jar and store them in a cool, dry place until next year!

This is a great way to get your whole family involved in a very eco-friendly tradition that is economical as well.