Question
A friend gave me starts for some tomatoes that her daughter had started from seed. The tomato had been passed down in her family for years and they start them every year from the previous years seeds. I had good luck with them and the tomatoes were beautiful. I'd like to try saving the seeds and starting them myself next spring. How do I go about gathering the seeds and saving them over the winter? I guess what I need to know is how ripe the fruit should be so that the seed inside is mature enough to be useful. Then after drying them, should I just put them in an envelope in a dry place? And when I plant them, how early do I start and would a Miracle-gro type soil be appropriate?
Thanks, Barb

Answer
Hi Barb,
Thanx for your question.  Take a few of the tomatoes and scoop the seeds out of them.  Let the seeds dry on a piece of paper for a few days.  Put the dried seeds in a small glass of water for a few days and then scoop off the scum and debris off the top which may include some seeds (these seeds are not fertile).  Strain the rest of the seeds and place them on a paper towel and allow them to dry for a few days.  After that, place them in a paper envelope and keep it in a place that is not to warm or dry.  The seeds should germinate nicely for you next season.  I cannot tell you how early to start your tomatoes without knowing in which part of the U.S. you are in or if you are in another country.  If you are in the U.S., Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia or South Africa, I have some information that would be helpful to you.  I get questions from people all over the world so it would help to know where you are.  You don't have to give an exact place, just a general area.

In general, in the U.S., tomatoes should be started from seed 8 weeks before the last frost.  Tomatoes will not grow well though until the soil is warmed to 70 degrees.  They will survive but will not be sturdy until warm soil and warm weather occurs.  People in New England and the northern states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, NE Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Montana, parts of Idaho, mountainous areas of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Northern California away from the coast use black plastic or red plastic on the ground to increase the ground heat.  The key to good tomato production is warm soil and then (what we don't have in my home state of Kansas), warm days and cool nights.  The problem we have in Kansas is the soil warms quickly in the spring and then we have 90-100+ days during the summer with hot nights in the mid-70s to low 80s for two straight months.  I had a ton of green tomatoes growing bigger and bigger on my plants but because the nights were so warm, they took their time turning red.  Also, tomatoes need water and don't put too much nitrogen on them.  The water is good but the nitrogen makes more leafy growth and less fruit production.  A simple side dressing of horse, cow or goat manure will do fine at regular intervals or 3-6 weeks at a time.  Tomatoes originated in Mexico alongside the mountains where they received warm weather in the day and cool weather at night.
I hope the information helps.  Let me know if you need more info.
thx,
Tom