Tomatoes: saving heirloom tomato seeds

I'm new to growing heirloom tomatoes and want to be able to save seeds. I know how to ferment, etc. but want to make sure that my tomatoes don't cross with each other. So, my questions are: Can I plant hybrids in the same area? Do I have to space my heirlooms far from each other? Do tomatoes cross pollinate? Any info. would be helpful.

Thanks,

Shirley

generaly if you have 4 ft between types they will be ok
if i remember right potato leaf will cross easier there flower is open some will come along and tell us if i wrong

Thanks Dave719, I'll keep my eyes on this thread for anymore information. I can see that my garden is starting to close in on me. I believe I'll have around 35-40 kinds of tomatoes this year. I'm gonna can salsa if it kills me. Won't it be pretty with green, yellow, orange, and red tomatoes in it though?

Brugie,you can plant hybrids and OP tomatoes in the same garden.They pollinate in exactly the same way. I keep about 5 feet between varieties and use seeds for saving on the interiors of the plants. After you plant OP(open pollinated)..you'll never go back to hybrids.Waste of time,effort and space in my opinion.

dave 719 is talking about the blooms of the potato leaf(PL)tomatoes.If you look at one,you can see that it is 'fuzzier' than a normal regular leaf(RL)It looks like a little marigold with lots more 'petals'The reason for thinking that they cross pollinate easier is that they are more attractive to insects and the pollen is accessible.On RL plants,the pollen is more enclosed in the bloom and less likely to rub off on an insect's legs.Lots of times a RL bloom will pollinate before it even opens.

Some people say 20 feet for PL plants,but I've not had any troubles with spacing them the same as my other tomatoes.The key is to have flowers there that are more attractive to insects than tomato blooms.They will visit,beans,squash and cukes and leave the tomatoes pretty much alone.Again,take your fruit for seed saving from the interior of the plant and in the middle of your group. It's best to have at least 4 plants of a variety so that you will have genetic vigor and not reinforce the inbreeding that happens if you save seeds from just one plant.

feel free to ask any questions..if I don't know,it's high time I learned too!

Thanks Melody,

I've learned so much from this forum. I can't wait to put some of my new knowledge to work for me. I guess I better toss the hybrids to make room for the heirlooms if I need to plant at least 4 of each. Any chance I could get by with two this first year? I can always buy new seed next year and only get those that I really like. I'm trying all these kinds to determine which ones I like the best. Like we do with brugs, we cull them out and that is what I'll do with the tomatoes. Thanks again for your help.

Shirley

I trial plants that way Brugie.I'll plant 2 of a variety that I've never tried.I just disipline myself to keep from saving the seeds if I really like it. Some varieties,I wouldn't be without 6 or 8 plants just because they're such favorites.But I always use at least 4 if I intend to save seeds.

Last year I trialed what was supposed to be a pink cherry tomato called Valley Girl.The two plants both produced something totally different.I'm calling them Mystery Girl and hoping to stabilize it over the next few years.

You can use seed left over from year to year.I've not noticed much decrease in viability for at least 5 years when your seed is stored properly.So,you could plant just a couple of plants each year till you determine what works best in your garden and for your family.

Thanks again........It's going to be a fun year in the vegie garden.

Melody.....have you ever tried alfalfa meal to help your 'maters assimilate the fertilizer better?

Shirley.....do you stake your tomatoes? Keep them pruned to one or two main stems? Use lots of compost and rotted manure as well as regular fertilizer? Use pea gravel to keep the soil loose and aerated? Just curious:)

Owen

This message was edited Thursday, Mar 14th 11:55 AM

Melody-thanks for the information! Wow, you said a mouthful. How do you store your seeds? And Brugie-thats a lot of tomatoes for sure. And here I though I was growing a lot. Are you selling salsa?

Owen, I have 5 ft. tall tomato cages made from the kind of wire that is put into cement driveways. They are really strong. I will do my best to keep them pruned and glad you mentioned the pea gravel. Another trip for more supplies, I see. I might be out of luck with the rotted manure unless I can get to my nephew's to get some horse. The compost will come easy.

Eric, I've never raised this many kinds of tomatoes in my life. Have always just had 3 or 4 kinds of hybrids and that was it. I haven't had a bit of luck with tomatoes for two years, so I have to do a lot of canning. Afraid I don't sell the salsa, but we do eat a lot of it and I do give a lot to family. This year, with all the help from you guys, I'll probably have all kinds of tomatoes and my pepper crop will fail. Thanks for all the hints and info. Can't wait to get things rolling. Have about 300 seedlings up now. Only going to plant about 60 plants though. BIL will use the rest. He makes about 150 qts. of salsa every year.

Happy Gardening!!

I store my seeds in airtight containers..film canisters and such.I do not freeze them.They are in a cabinet in my spare bedroom at room temprature. Freezing has pros and cons to it.
Most home freezers are not held at zero and the temps fluctuate as the door is opened.Ice crystals will form and it will hurt the viability of your seeds. At SSE,the seed vaults are humidity and temprature controlled.They are maintained by professionals for the optimum conditions for seed storage.Your home freezer can not duplicate it.Our house is kept at 45 to 50% humidity(quite a feat in west KY)so things are not overly damp.

I've never used alfalfa meal,so I can't comment one way or the other.

Shirley,

Owen's recommendation - to keep 1 or 2 branch is a good one. the more branches u've got, less good quality tomatoes to harvest. the year before last, i've had good luck harvesting tomatoes. i was able to can and dry some of them. btw... i love the dried tomatoes, crumble them into the salad dressing ... yummy! last year, due to fluctuating weather, i hardly have any harvest :(! i normally plant at least 5 beef steak tomatoes and 5 roma varieties. i have not tried planting heirloom tomatoes. can anyone recommend a good site to buy heirloom tomatoes? thanks... ma vie

MaVieRose.....see this thread for my favorite heirloom seed suppliers.

http://davesgarden.com/showthread/208899.html

Thanks Owen =)! much appreciated... ma vie

MaVieRose: There is a long list of good heirloom seed suppliers. Among them:

Marianna's Heirloom Seeds: http://mariseeds.com, has one of the broadest selections available. If you want something particular and it's not in her catalog, ask. She may have it.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: www.rareseeds.com. Not a tomato specialist, but among the very best suppliers of heirloom veggie seeds of all kinds.

Seeds of Change: www.seedsofchange.com. Another general heirlooms supplier, with a good selection of tomatoes.

Victory Seed Co.: www.VictorySeeds.com. Like Baker Creek, Victory specializes in heirlooms, and has a nice tomato selection.

I don't have his webaddress handy, but Chuck Wyatt has, perhaps, the largest commercial offering of tomatoes in the country. If you do a google search under his name you'll find it. May as well do a search under "heirloom tomatoes" while you're at it. There are dozens of possibilities.

But why go commercial at all. There are many of us right here who'd be glad to provide you with seeds just for an SASE. Why don't you tell us what you're generally interested in (slicers, cherries, paste, color choice, etc.) and I'm sure you'll have no problems getting seed.

I have a few I can share with you and will stick them in with your package that will go out on Monday. Have heirlooms and hybrids. Let me know what kinds you like best and they are yours.

S.

ohhhhh that sounds even better Brook =)! actually i do not need much. i live in double triplex apartment, situated in a 3 acre lot, where occupants are mostly senior citizens. i am the only one into gardening around here. whatever harvest i get i share it with everyone. the 10 tomato plants i planted two yrs. ago, i had ample tomatoes harvested. everyone got their share plus plenty for me to can and dry.

there is fun gardening around here, i am able to get those seniors get out from being confined in their living quarters. they come out to admire and pick whatever vegetable or herb to fill their heart's desire, they get to exercise too and get some fresh air. before the garden evolved they used to mopped and brood in their individual apartments. everyone get to enjoy the garden, i get the most pleasure cause i am able to share the fruit of my labor.

i am not too familiar with heirloom tomatoes. i bet there is so much difference compared to the hybrids tomatoes that is sold on seed racks on local nurseries. i mostly grow slicing tomatoes and those that to be canned as tomato paste. TIA :)

Shirley :) u're a doll!!! now u got me so excited. peas in a pod LOL!!! ma vie

MaVie,

If you have a determinate tomato, you could let them branch as long as you make sure there is quite a bit of leaves to help produce better quality fruit. I'd suggest letting the lower branches become all leaves, pinching off the flowers. That way you'd also be producing a stronger plant. The same method could be used for the indeterminate type, but remember that these type vine more than bush, so cutting back the branches would actually lessen your yeild.

Thanks for the information SquareRoot, but all those terminology are Greek to me, no offense intended. one thing for sure, when i plant tomato plant, i keep the main body of the plant, pruning the side shoots to produce quality fruits. i also keep one fruit and take off the smaller ones to produce a nice size and more palatable fruit. these i learned from the farmer i met growing up in the Philippines. one thing for sure i will look up the terms to gain better understanding. i deeply appreciate ur help.... ma vie

Brook, I am raising one hybrid tomato just for you....will send you a boxfull of them when they get ripe:) J/k

My thirty heirloom varieties are doing just fine, both the ones under growlights and those in my cold frames. Temp got to about 90 degrees yesterday and today....more like August weather here this week:) I LOVE IT!

I even had excellent germination of my Isis Candy seeds....had very poor germination rate last year from the seeds someone sent me. Santa is the one giving me poor germination this year, but a couple plants is all I need in order to try it out anyway.

It would be interesting to know what all varieties everyone is planting this year, and then which ones everyone is especially satisfied with after the growing season, excluding "paste" tomatoes, of course:) haha