Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
Another way of classifying tomatoes is the time they take to mature. Early or fast-ripening tomatoes will produce fruit within 4 months of sowing the seed (e.g. Early Girl and Moneymaker), main crops take 4–5 months (e.g. Potentate), while late-maturing tomatoes (e.g. Russian Red) will take more than 5 months to produce fruit. http://www.gardenscience.co.nz/vegetables/TGuides/tg%20tomatoes.htm
Tomatoes are generally divided into bush (determinate) or cordon (indeterminate) types. Bush tomatoes have several branches, each of which terminates with a flower truss, so the plant forms a bush. Cordons generally have a single major shoot, with trusses (and side shoots) from the axil between leaf and stalk, so the main shoot may form a very long vine. Both these classifications (like the distinction between greenhouse and outdoor) are somewhat arbitrary. Tomatoes are easy to save seed from and, with a few exceptions, easy to keep true to type. green, yellow, orange, pink, black, brown, ivory, white, and purple. Less common variations include fruit with stripes (Green Zebra), fuzzy skin on the fruit (Fuzzy Peach, Red Boar), multiple colors (Hillbilly, Burracker's Favorite, Lucky Cross), etc. omatoes are also commonly classified as determinate or indeterminate. Determinate, or bush, types bear a full crop all at once and top off at a specific height; they are often good choices for container growing. Determinate types are preferred by commercial growers who wish to harvest a whole field at one time, or home growers interested in canning. Indeterminate varieties develop into vines that never top off and continue producing until killed by frost. They are preferred by home growers and local-market farmers who want ripe fruit throughout the season. As an intermediate form, there are plants sometimes known as vigorous determinate or semideterminate; these top off like determinates, but produce a second crop after the initial crop. The majority of heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate, although some determinate heirlooms exist. |
Growing & Roguing
Grow as you would for eating. In Britain tomatoes are treated as annuals, producing seed in
the same year that they are planted.
· Tomatoes can usually produce seed outside, though varieties that are slow to grow and ripen
do best in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
· Tomatoes are inbreeders and many seedsavers successfully maintain varieties by saving from
just two or three plants, though it is best to save from at least six plants.
· Remove any plants that look sickly or have different foliage to the rest, or any that produce
tomatoes that differ from the rest of the crop.
Grow as you would for eating. In Britain tomatoes are treated as annuals, producing seed in
the same year that they are planted.
· Tomatoes can usually produce seed outside, though varieties that are slow to grow and ripen
do best in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
· Tomatoes are inbreeders and many seedsavers successfully maintain varieties by saving from
just two or three plants, though it is best to save from at least six plants.
· Remove any plants that look sickly or have different foliage to the rest, or any that produce
tomatoes that differ from the rest of the crop.
Pollination & Isolation
Most tomatoes are not capable of cross-pollination as the flowers are perfect and self-pollinating.
The female stigma is very short, and grows within a tube formed by the fused anthers. For these
types, different varieties can be grown close together.
There are three exceptions: currant tomatoes (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium), potato leaved varieties,
and double blossoms on beefsteak varieties. These often have a protruding stigma and are able to
cross-pollinate, especially if there are other protruding-stigma varieties in the vicinity. To be
absolutely certain, check a few newly opened flowers using a hand lens. The green stigmas will
protrude from the anther tube. For safety, you could grow just one protruding-stigma variety a year.
Or, you may want to cage plants or bag trusses, the flowers will self pollinate within these.
Most tomatoes are not capable of cross-pollination as the flowers are perfect and self-pollinating.
The female stigma is very short, and grows within a tube formed by the fused anthers. For these
types, different varieties can be grown close together.
There are three exceptions: currant tomatoes (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium), potato leaved varieties,
and double blossoms on beefsteak varieties. These often have a protruding stigma and are able to
cross-pollinate, especially if there are other protruding-stigma varieties in the vicinity. To be
absolutely certain, check a few newly opened flowers using a hand lens. The green stigmas will
protrude from the anther tube. For safety, you could grow just one protruding-stigma variety a year.
Or, you may want to cage plants or bag trusses, the flowers will self pollinate within these.
Harvesting
The seeds are fully mature once the tomatoes are ripe. Allow the fruits to ripen on the plant, if
possible, or bring indoors and ripen them as you would for eating, e.g. in a box or drawer with ripe
apples or bananas.
The seeds are fully mature once the tomatoes are ripe. Allow the fruits to ripen on the plant, if
possible, or bring indoors and ripen them as you would for eating, e.g. in a box or drawer with ripe
apples or bananas.
Cleaning
Some varieties contain more seed than others. Large beefsteak or plum tomatoes may yield less
than ten seeds, while small or cherry tomatoes can produce scores of seed.
To save a small quantity of seeds for your own use
Remove seeds from the fruit and rinse in a sieve under cold running water, rubbing them against the
sieve to remove the gel coating. Spread them on a paper towel or piece of kitchen paper and leave
to dry. Fold up the paper, label it, and in the spring pop the paper with the seeds attached on to
moist compost in a seed tray to start your plants.
To save a larger quantity of seeds - Fermentation Method
Squeeze the pulp from ripe tomatoes into a suitable container (e.g. a large yoghurt pot or small
plastic buckets). You can also process ripe fruits into a food processor with an equal quantity of
water until you have a pulpy mass. The seeds are hard and will not be damaged.
Put the container into a warm place to ferment. It may
smell bad but it is good for the seeds. Fermentation
removes compounds that inhibit germination and it
also destroys seed-borne diseases. You are merely
duplicating what happens in nature.
After three or four days, when the bucket is topped
with a mass of mould, add plenty of water and stir
vigorously. Good seeds will settle to the bottom, so
you can tip the rotting mass away. Rinse and repeat until only good, clean seeds remain. Strain the
water off and place them on a clean plate or piece of glass (they will stick to paper). Stir once or
twice a day to promote even drying and prevent clumps of seeds forming. Dry the seeds quickly to
prevent them germinating, but avoid direct sunlight or an oven. A cool, gentle breeze is best.