Homegrown Tomatoes

Posts Tagged ‘heirloom seeds’

I thought I’d update you with an heirloom tomato report, on how these wonderful plants are growing in the garden.  I’ve had extremely unsettled weather from January through last week (beginning of March) and the tomatoes have taken it with differing results.  Here’s a homegrown heirloom tomato report!

Heirloom Tomatoes in the Garden

First, in case you aren’t aware, I am in South Florida.  Although my winters have been pretty mild in the recent past, it was a cold one this year, with several freezes.   Last week’s temperature dip into the 30’s didn’t help matters.  But it’s warming up now, and the plants look happier.

Here’s a list of the heirloom tomatoes currently in the garden:

• Black Sea Man:  Determinate, black fruit
• Brandywine:  Indeterminate, pink fruit
• Druzba:  Indeterminate, red fruit
• Eva Purple Ball:  Indeterminate, dark pink fruit
• Kelloggs Breakfast:  Indeterminate, orange fruit
• Loxahatchee:  Semi-determinate, red fruit
• Mr. Stripey:  Indeterminate, bicolor yellow/red fruit
• Pineapple:  Indeterminate, bicolor yellow/red fruit
• Prudens Purple:  Indeterminate, dark pink fruit
• White Bush:  Determinate, white fruit

And here are the heirloom plants that (sadly) succumbed to one of the freezes:

• Big Rainbow:  Indeterminate, bicolor yellow/red fruit
• Green Zebra:  Indeterminate, green striped fruit
• Yellow Cherry:  Indeterminate, yellow fruit

That’s not too bad, though — just three that are more temperature-sensitive. 

Last Week’s Cold Snap

Almost all the plants got nipped by the dip into the 30’s last week.  Green Zebra was the only casualty, but all the other plants except two showed signs of stress and/or what I call “freezer burn” on some leaves.

The two heirloom tomato varieties that came through totally unscathed were Loxahatchee and White Bush.   Both acted as if the cold snap never happened.  Unfortunately, White Bush doesn’t seem to be in circulation anymore (couldn’t find any seeds for sale) and Loxahatchee is from my own heirloom breeding program, and I don’t have enough seeds to offer for sale at the moment.

Heirloom Tomatoes — Who’s Blooming?

Mr. Stripey is the only one with tomatoes and blossoms, but that’s the one variety I bought as a plant; all the rest I have grown from seed.

None if the seed-grown plants are actually in full blossom at the moment, but about half have small (and in Brandywine’s case, not so small) blossom buds.  So far, I expect Brandywine to have the first open blossoms, probably by Saturday.

The heirloom tomato plants that aren’t showing blossom buds, like Druzba and Pruden’s Purple, are just too young yet (I just put them in the garden a few days ago).   I plant my tomatoes is waves, hoping to extend the season.  While it doesn’t always work (sometimes they all stubbornly decide to ripen at the same time no matter what I do), sometimes I get lucky.

I’ll be taking some photos this weekend of the various heirloom tomato plants.  I’ll also be updating The Great Tomato Experiment report.  Meanwhile, you can take a look at other posts I’ve written on heirloom tomatoes.

See you then!

Saving tomato seeds isn’t terribly difficult, although it can get a wee bit on the aromatic side.  Here are some tips on how to save tomato seeds.

Know Your Tomato Variety

The first thing is you need to know if the tomato variety you want to save the seeds from is a hybrid or open-pollinated.

A hybrid is a cross between two different tomato varieties.  Seeds grown from the hybrid may or may not be like the plant from which they came.  (Most likely they will be different.)  Don’t save seeds from hybrids unless you want to be surprised!

If your tomato variety is open-pollinated (which includes heirlooms), then the plants you grow from the seeds you save will be just like the parent plant.

Saving Tomato Seeds

Here are the steps for saving tomato seeds.

1. Pick the best examples of your ripe tomatoes (choose three or more tomatoes from each variety of the plants).
2. Slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze the tomato juice and seeds into a small plastic container.  Put only one tomato variety in each cup.  Add a tablespoon of water.
3. Label the container with the name of the tomato variety.
4. Cover the cups loosely with plastic wrap and set them in a warm location (between 75 and 80 degrees is best).  If it’s warm enough, you may want to set the cups outside because the next step can get, um, aromatic (smelly).
5. Let the container set for at least three days; you will see white scum appearing on top of the liquid in the container.  This is normal.  And a bit strong-smelling.  This is the fermentation process.

If the temperature is warm (around 80), let the container sit for another 2 or 3 days after the fermentation starts; if it’s been cooler, you may need 4 or 5 days.  Then you’re ready to clean the tomato seeds.

Here’s how to clean out the containers and get the seeds.  (Hint:  do this outside if you can.)

1. Grab a pail and either a garden hose with a pistol-grip sprayer or several small bottles of water.  Add some water to the container with the seeds and swish it around some.  The good seeds will fall to the bottom; bad seeds will float to the top.
2. Dump out as much liquid as you can, along with the bad seeds, then add some more water and swish again.  Dump out the excess water.
3. Repeat until the water is clear, which means the seeds are clean.
4. Grab a paper towel and dump the seeds onto it, to absorb any extra moisture, then transfer to a paper plate.
5. Spread the seeds around on the paper plate so they aren’t piled up; they need to air dry.  Label the paper plate with the tomato variety name.
6. Move around the seeds once a day to make sure all sides are sufficiently dried.  They should be good after two or three days, unless you have the paper plate with seeds in a humid location.  If that’s the case, give it a few extra days.
7. Store the seeds in a paper envelope, small plastic bag or a small container with a lid.  Label your container!

Place the seeds in a cool, dry place and they should last several years (although they are best used within 2 to 3 years if possible).  However, I have seeds over 10 years old that are germinating fine, even as I write this.  Still, the sooner you use (or share) the seeds, the more likely they are to germinate and thrive.