saving tomato seeds for early producer

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vicjova Amherst, VA(Zone 7a) Aug 06, 2013

When saving tomato seeds with the goal of growing a plant that produces early does it matter which tomato I select for the seeds? Should I save seeds from the first good tomato that develops or from the biggest and best tasting tomato, even if it grows late in the season?

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Gymgirl SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a) Aug 06, 2013

You should select a good, healthy tomato, with no evidence of Blossom End Rot or other disease.

Select from your best.

Just to clarify, the tomato variety determines its growing season length, not when (within that season) it ripens.

I grow mostly long season indeterminates (which will produce until the plant fails or the frost kills the plant, or it's time for me to rip it out). Some tomatoes will ripen earlier than others, but they are all long season fruits taking anywhere from 85-110 days to maturity (DTMs).

Check some of the tomato websites. They usually group their offerings by length of season (short, medium, long) and whether the tomatoes are determinates (tending to mature all at the same time -- great when you wanna make a batch of tomato sauce!), or indeterminates (producing fruits over a long period of time, until the plant dies out, etc..)

Linda

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HoneybeeNC Charlotte, NC(Zone 7b) Aug 07, 2013

vicjova - are you saving seeds from a hybrid, or an heirloom?

If the former, the tomatoes that develop next year will be different from the ones you grew this year.

If the latter, the day to maturity is probably already built into the seeds.

Your idea of saving seed from the first, healthy, best tasting tomato is a good one.

I don't think blossom end rot is a disease, but a symptom. Although I agree with Gymgirl, it is probably best not to save seeds from tomatoes that have blossom end rot.

You might want to experiment with winter sowing seeds. Just bury a few tomatoes when they are fully ripe and see what comes up next year!

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Gymgirl SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a) Aug 07, 2013

Thanks for the clarification on the BER, Bee!

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vicjova Amherst, VA(Zone 7a) Aug 08, 2013

Thank you both for your help. I bought Black Prince and German Johnson this year. I do not have a lighting system or a sun room. I tried this year with a heating pad and as much indoor sunlight as possible, and put them outside when temperatures allowed. The stray seeds of any kind that grew in the compost were better than what I started indoors.

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cytf Staten Island, NY(Zone 6a) Aug 10, 2013

I saved Big Boy seeds last year and my tomatoes came true to the size.I was surprised

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