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kudzu9

Saving seeds from green tomatoes?

kudzu9
16 years ago

This has been a weird growing year for tomatoes in the Pacific NW, and I have several tomato varieties that have put out large tomatoes that have yet to turn color. Given the weather here lately, I doubt that they will. If I collect seeds from these non-ripe tomatoes, will they be viable?

Comments (2)

  • bitterwort
    16 years ago

    Your best bet is to pick the fruit green before a frost and then ripen them in the house before collecting the seed for processing. If they've started to turn paler green at the blossom end, they should ripen successfully in the house in a single layer on the counter. The riper they are, the better in terms of seed being mature and viable. Some of the expert posters on the Growing Tomatoes forum suggested it, and I've saved seed that germinated fine from fruits ripened in this way before.

  • stage_rat
    16 years ago

    I agree! That's what I've done, as well. So, just let the tomatoes stay on the vine until your first frost threatens.