How much do you spend on organic, heirloom seeds or plants every year? If you love planting heirlooms and having a variety in your garden like we do, it can get quite expensive. Unless I want to try a new variety, it costs me nothing to re-produce beautiful plants from year to year.
Our tomato plants are going gangbusters this year and I am making lots and lots of salsa this week. If you want to read a post on salsa go here http://raf6.blogspot.com/2012/06/chow-chow-and-salsa.html At some point in the season I save some seeds to use next spring and since I already had all the tomatoes out for the salsa, what better time to pick the biggest and nicest looking ones to save seeds from.
Tomatoes don't cross pollinate with other tomato plants you may have in your garden so you can count on getting the tomato you want. You do however, need to make sure you are saving seeds from heirloom tomatoes since hybrids won't produce the same kind of tomato the next year.
Start by picking the biggest, best looking tomato of the variety you want to save and slicing into the seed cavity. Place seeds and some juice from the tomato into a bowl and let sit out for a couple of days. Rinse with spring water (not chlorinated) and place seeds on a paper towel to dry. Once dry place in a cool dry location until spring.....oh, and make to sure to label them or you will end up with tomatoes called Mystery Tomato........a brand we have that produces well for canning. :-0
Aren't Mystery Tomatoes the best???
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear what's cooking on the farm :)
Love you all!
~Rachel