I have in the past just spread on kitchen towel to dry, and once washed in water.
But any tips would be most welcome :happy7:
I usually ferment my seeds, I find it works well and germination is great.
Choose ripe fruit, cut them in half and then squeeze or scrape out the seeds into a container, I usually use something like a plastic cup or yoghurt pot. Add water and cover seeds with an inch or so of water, then leave for approx 3 days - sometimes a bit more if temperatures are cooler. Then rinse, keep adding clean water to the pot, wait until the seeds sink then poor the water and bits off until clean. Chuck any seeds that float, they don't usually germinate. I drain mine in a tea sieve and then dry on paper, before putting in an envelope.
But if you only have a few seeds squeezing them on to a piece of kitchen paper and leaving to dry thoroughly works well too. Seeds can just be folded up along with the paper and torn off as needed, no need to remove from paper before sowing.
For years I've just smeared the seeds (they still had a little tomato pulp clinging to them) onto a dry kitchen paper towel, wrote the name on the paper and the date, then left the paper out to get good and dry in a warm room on a cookie drying rack for a week or so. Then into an old envelop, still on the paper. Then into a file drawer with other seeds. I've never had any problem using this method.
The reason that fermenting for 3 days is better is that it kills off any lingering nasties; blight for example.
I do the three day ferment as well, and have a tea strainer that is dedicated specifically to this task; to get all the gunge washed off them. Then dried on small saucers and put when dry into paper envelopes. I use a chalk pen to write each variety on the saucer so that they don't get mixed up.
Fermenting here as well, same as Jayb and aj. I write the variety on a small piece of thin cardboard, cellotape it to the fermenting jar (I keep little mustard jars etc for the purpose). When the seeds have been washed and put into the tea strainer, they go onto a plastic lid of some sort - takeaway container or large yoghurt container lid. The label and cellotape gets transferred to the lid for drying, once dry the seeds go into paper envelopes.
However, I have also just stuck them onto kitchen towel and labelled and never had a problem with that method either. I think it is early blight (the type of blight we don't get in the UK, but it happens in the USA) that gets killed by fermenting seeds. I seem to remember from a comment at an HDRA lecture, where it was also stated that in the UK either method is fine because we don't have early blight. (notwithstanding 'early' late blight).
Thanks all, I couldn't remember the fermenting method and I think that's the method I'll try.I have some "Vicky" which an A4er sent me and hope to grow them again next year :happy7:
Scoop out seeds onto kitchen paper and spread out
Dabbing them with the kitchen paper and spreading them removing the pulp
Then when they are dry put them in an envelope, label and leave in a drawer. :wave:
I'm a fermenter myself... :wave:
I'm trying a new technique this year that someone mentioned to me.
Get your very ripe 'victim' put it on the surface of damp compost in a medium sized pot and leave it to decompose. After it's rotted into the compost just sieve a very fine layer of compost over it. When the seedlings appear transplant them into their own pots.
It sounds very "back to basic nature" but the person who told me about it says that she would not use any other method! Her mother apparently grew wonderful tomatoes all through her life using that technique.
It sounds very pheasable - after all isn't that the way tomatoes have evolved to reproduce in the wild? I know that every year I find tomato seedlings doing 'very well thank you' in the borders of my polytunnel where their parents grew the previous season. In fact they seem more hardy and vigourous than the pampered stuff!
Anyway I'm giving it a try for the first time this year. I'll let you know how I get on later.
I'm in the fermentation club too! It's good for the health of the seed. When you buy seeds from a seed company tomato seeds always have the furry coating, that happens when you ferment.
I ferment, to get rid of chemicals whic inhibit germination as much as anything.