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 Well my tom's were rubbish like losts of others,but a tomato seed from last yr self seeded in a trough, and I let it grow away merrily, it got some tom's and we pick them wow! they were lush sweet juicy ,we couldn't believe it ,I saved some seeds how do I clean them and dry them am i to late to do this ?

Hi there,
No you are not too late!

Have a look at the instructions for seed saving on the Real seed website  http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedsavinginfo.html - the bit on saving tomato seeds tells you how to clean them by fermenting the seeds for a few days before leaving them to air dry. 

You might choose to dry them further to help them store for longer, in which case the same website explains how you can dry seeds over a two week period using dried rice.

Hope this helps,
Sue

As Sue says, not too late. I prefer fermenting seeds as in the link given, although I don't bother to stir them and find this works fine for me. If you only want to do a few seeds, you could cut the tomato and squidge (sp?) the seeds on to a bit of kitchen paper, spacing them out. Again leave to dry thoroughly,  your 'tomato paper' can then be saved for next year when you can just rip a little piece off with a seed and sow. Good luck with your tommies they sound delish.

I've done the kitchen towel method for years, not knowing about the fermentation idea. So it won't be a disaster if you don't do it.

I'll second the method used by Jayb 

Cheers,   Tony.

Hi thank you all for your advice on the drying of my tomato seed all 25 of them we ate the rest ,so they are on the paper roll in a warm greenhouse ,it doesn't sound alot but its for free 

I ferment them off... bit smelly when you tip out but it works well, get good germination....

At the Martineau Gardens open day on their seed saving talk, I think they said that the coating around the tomato seed prevented/hindered germination and that is why you ferment them.  Another member who was there might be able to confirm that.

Just done my lemon tree and handbag, same as Jayb. Worked for the last few years 

Am I being thick? 'Handbag' ?????

Quote from: katynewbie on October 18, 2012, 18:27:30
Am I being thick? 'Handbag' ?????

Sorry, katy, don't know the variety, just look like a handbag to me 

What a great name....they do look like handbags!

Quote from: lottie lou on October 16, 2012, 19:28:52
At the Martineau Gardens open day on their seed saving talk, I think they said that the coating around the tomato seed prevented/hindered germination and that is why you ferment them.  Another member who was there might be able to confirm that.

I can't remember whether they said that or not, but I've read it elsewhere.

As above, squishy bit wiped away then left on kitchen roll to dry, worked for me for the last few years and I'm still harvesting.