The article on seed saving by Carolyn, transcribed below, with comments prior to and after by me

The next two articles to be posted are by Carolyn Male. The first, in this blog, transcribed below, details her methods for saving tomato seeds. Reading it is just like having a phone chat with her, something we did often. Those that know her - and me - probably only imagine the length of those phone calls!

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Saving Seeds

Carolyn

When filling SSE requests the three most common questions I’m asked are (1) cross-pollination and isolation distances (see Jeff McCormack’s article in this issue) (2) how to save seeds (see this article), and (3) my favorite tomatoes (future articles!).

Step 1 in saving seeds is to cut your fingernails! I know this may sound odd but the seeds can get caught under your fingernails and then get washed off into the next variety you are processing thus contaminating the seed you’re processing. Select firm, ripe fruit from several vines of the same variety and be sure to include a range of fruit sizes; don’t save just the “big” ones. It’s OK to process fruit that is a bit “over the hill”. If frost is expected and you MUST save seed from some varieties remember that a tomato that has any color on it will have mature seed. If you are saving seed just for yourself I don’t see any problem with just scooping out some seeds and drying them. But if you’re going to offer seed to other SSE members it would be best to process them by fermentation because (1) you get a lot of seed, (2) you eliminate viruses and bacteria which cause tomato diseases, and (3) you end up with fuzzy, squeaky clean seeds which are free of skin, pulp and dirt.

I’m going to describe the method which works best for me; feel free to experiment and find out what works best for you. I buy 1 lb clear plastic deli containers from the local supermarket; clear containers are best because you can monitor the fermentation process. Label a container with tape stating the variety name. Squeeze enough pulp/seeds into the container until it is ¾ full. Wash your hands thoroughly between filling each of the containers so you don’t carry over seeds and contaminate the next batch. Place the open containers out of the sun either indoors or out where “critters” won’t tip them over and where fruit files and the anticipated “ripe” odor won’t bother anyone. Depending on the tomato variety and temperature you’ll usually see a mat of white wrinkled fungus form on the surface of the pulp within a few days and you’ll see bubbles forming under the fungus which indicates the fermentation process has started. Some folks stir each mixture daily (beware of the contamination between containers), but I don’t stir. Fermentation is a process which occurs beset in the absence of oxygen and I feel that stirring induces oxygen. The acid conditions developed from the fermentation are felt to kill most of the virus pathogens and fungus is felt to produce antibiotics which kill most of the bacterial pathogens. After about 3 to 5 days the seeds have separated from the pulp and have sunk to the bottom or are only loosely attached to the pulp.

Now I’m ready to process this mess! First I directly label (no tape) paper plates with the variety name; Styrofoam plates are not good because they don’t absorb water well from the wet seeds you’ll be putting on the plates. Then I sit down with a large bucket between my legs and a hose with a pistol grip handle by my left hand (I’m right handed). Pour off the top layer of pulp and fungus into the bucket; yes, you’ll lose some seeds. Now spritz some water into the container while swirling with your right hand. The good seeds will sink and you can pour off the pulp, skin and other debris. You’ll need to sprtiz, swirl and decant several times until the water is clear. Drain off the water and dump the seeds onto a labeled paper plate, spreading the seeds around with your finger so there’s only one layer of seeds. Seeds dumped in a pile may germinate if the weather is damp because fermentation also removes a germination inhibitor. For heavens sake don’t site under the maple tree with plates of seeds on a windy day or off they’ll go into the wild blue yonder! Trust me, I’ve done it! The amount of seed you get is most dependent upon the variety of tomato, seedy or not, but is also dependent on how efficient the fermentation process was in releasing seeds from their gel capsule and the pulp. For a tomato like Opalka, a long paste type, I may have to do 3 or 4 containers because the variety has so few seeds.

Dry the seeds in a protected area away from the sun. I use an empty bedroom which becomes decorated with plates. I almost forgot, don’t stack the plates with wet seeds because the seeds stick to the plate above them. The seeds usually are dry in a week or so. And you should know that mice LOVE tomato seeds so beware! After the seeds are completely dry, I put them in small screw cap vials. I use a different color take each year to label the vials. Jeff McCormack has given some additional ideas for how to keep the seeds under low humidity conditions, which is important if you’ll be keeping the seeds for several years.

That’s how I save my tomato seeds. Some folks use a sieve to separate the pulp from the seeds after fermentation; that method has not worked well for me, but it has worked well for Craig. Fermentation of seeds is a bit messy and smelly, but if you’re going to share seeds with others it would be nice to share clean disease-free seeds. I would estimate that in any given year 90% of the seed I receive has been fermented. I hope the above will be helpful to the many SSE members who have been hesitant to list varieties and become listed members because of not knowing how to ferment the seed. In 1993 I sent out over 1000 packets of seed. I know from experience that less than 5% of that seed will be reoffered. If that trend continues, much of the SSE collection will end up being reoffered by a very few members; that is not a desirable situation. But we will discuss that issue elsewhere in this newsletter.

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Craig’s comments upon reading - the 2022 view

There is so much wisdom, and some accurate prognostication, going on in Carolyn’s article. She pleads for everyone growing OP varieties to save seeds - it isn’t difficult, is extremely rewarding, and provides lots of seeds to share, donate to seed libraries, and grow on into the future.

The other huge point is the very last bit - the extremely low of seed reoffer rate in the SSE yearbook from seeds sent out. When we were doing this newsletter, Carolyn and me, a few others such as Gary Staley, Calvin Wait, Edmund Brown, Glenn Drowns, Will Bonsall (not an exhaustive list!) held significant tomato variety collections offered through the SSE yearbooks, and just speaking for me, the number of requests were overwhelming, yet rewarding. However, I confirm what Carolyn said - there was a very low reoffer rate. The way I put this into context is to realize that the SSE has been going since 1975…sitting here in 2022, that’s 47 years. In all that time, the maximum number of SSE members offering back seeds in the yearbook was barely over 1,000. Heirloom tomato growing, seed saving - this type of gardening will likely always be a niche activity. It is also vital to keeping these treasured varieties alive and growing and being shared and loved.