I planted seeds from store bought fruits only one time and that because it was the only way I could get F2 seeds to work with.

Andrew Chu of FL had introduced Santa F1, perhaps the first well known grape tomato, it was bred in Taiwan.

Seeds for it were sold in the US initially, mainly by TGS, but I had overlooked that. I got in touch with Andrew and he said that although it was a hybrid that 99% of the time it came true, the rare offtype being oval and with a much lower Brix level than the F1 fruits.

But the Procacci brothers shut him down and he could no longer sell the fruits and nor could the fruits, or seeds, for that matter, be sold in the US.

So I bought a pint of what was then called Santa Sweets, saved my own F2 seeds, and then spread the gospel of Santa F1, if you will.

Other than that, I almost bought what were called Ugly Ripes, the Procacci Bros had bought them out as well, But said, Carolyn, why are you doing this when there are close to 20,000 varieties, 95% of them OP's, and I never bought a store tomato that I saved seeds from then on.

And by store I mean the larger and smaller grocery chain ones, not from farmer's markets and similar

Yes, I buy those cluster ones in the winter, all are hybrids, but never saved seeds,

Carolyn

I have grown out seeds from hybrid store tomatoes. Also from Directed crosses, and accidental crosses. Frankly, since I have so many crosses to work with, I really only rarely grow seeds from store tomatoes. BUT, if you are interested in breeding tomatoes, and you find a store tomato you really like, or that accidentally grows a volunteer tomato, like you had, then I say go for it. I have indeed had some good offspring from store tomatoes.

The commercial breeders/producers can argue the rights of their genetic property (still a VERY unclear field), but if you don't plan to ever SELL your seeds from whatever you develop (you probably could never make any money anyway), and are just going to give them away, then I say go for it, if you have something you like, or if you are interested. Then later, if you like doing it, you can look for, develop, make or ask for other crossed seed to work with in the future.

This post was edited by fcivish on Tue, Sep 24, 13 at 17:16

Most likely it came from a "tomatoes on the vine" that Bi-Lo sells. Probably the same as the "cluster ones" that Carolyn mentioned. That is the only tomato I will buy during the winter.

But my dear wife may have brought something else home! She will buy tomatoes from the store when we have fresh in the garden! She's a city girl........

They all have a little pointy thing at the bottom, like an acorn, on them.

When I get home I'll post a pic.

Most store tomatoes are hybrid. So, you might not get what you expect, Unless the sign says HEIRLOOM. Today I went to the Farmers' Market and bought few tomatoes that were marked as Heirloom. One is kind of purple/black the other is Orange/yellow. I asked the lady if she knows the names of the varieties. She said "they are HEIRLOOM" (haha.)

Anyway, I liked them. It does not matter to me what the names are. So my point is, if it is not marked "Heirloom", you are gambling on it

I have recently tasted the best cherry tomato I have ever had, ever. I stopped chewing and spit two seeds before it was too late.
I have never saved seeds before, so this for me is special.
It was in a clamshell of various heirloom cherries at the health store. It tasted like a beefsteak-if I can make a go of it I've found my dream tomato.

and spit two seeds before it was too late.

*************************
Thats good. Now you can grow two plants.

One time I grew out 4 plants from a tomato that came from the local grocer and was marketed as a 'vine ripened' tomato. I've read that store bought tomatoes were always picked green and gassed to ripen, despite claims to the contrary, which made them bland and tasteless. I wanted to see if it made a difference if the tomato was truly ripened on the vine.

I ended up with beautiful tomatoes that looked and tasted identical to the store bought ones. I can only conclude that store bought tomatoes don't taste good as a variety, and that it has nothing to do with the tomato being gassed.

This season I grew out 6 plants from Zima tomatoes. There was a fair bit variation in fruit form (grapes, pears, cherries and currants). Despite the various forms, they were all orange, very sweet (comparable to Sun Gold but without any tanginess) and thick crunchy flesh typical of grape tomatoes.

Next season, I'm going to try Kumato.

Most store bought tomatoes are first and foremost bred to be beautiful bright red smooth baseballs.

Ability to be picked green (by mechanical picker) and shipped green is second.

Disease resistance is third. (A farmer MUST be able to depend on his whole crop. To a home gardener disease problems is an inconvenience but not a calamity.)

Storing ability is probably fourth.

Flavor only comes in at position FIVE, or even later.

Why is this the case? Because study after study shows that people will consistently buy the smoothest, most beautiful red baseballs, no matter what their flavor, even when stacked up against tomatoes with excellent flavor, but that aren't quite as pretty. Grocery store consumers of tomatoes are essentially uneducated, and they go on color and form. So, if you find a store bought tomato that actually tastes worthwhile, you have a bonus.

The only store bought tomatoes that I find that are generally tolerable are "Campari" tomatoes. "Kumato." And SOME of the packages of grape and red or yellow cherry tomatoes. Once in a while, you will see a good vine or cluster tomato. Even with the ones I have listed, there are no guarantees, since flavor can be killed depending on when they were picked and how they were stored, including storage temperatures that are too low. I only buy ANY other type of store bought tomato if it is the middle of winter, and if they don't have any of the ones I mentioned above. Store bought Romas, Celebrities and others, are typically not much better than eating wet cardboard.

I found Camparis too sweet for me-I love a good, strong "beefsteak" flavor. The store bought vine ripened tomatoes were always tasteless.
Strangely, to me at least, home grown Yellow Pear is pretty darn good, not sweet at all.
I admit that the perfect reds are beautiful to behold but are a waste of money-not worth bringing home !

I've read somewhere about treating fruits (I think it was regarding apples) with hormones that prevented germination or setting fruit. I saved some seeds a while back from a tomato I bought at an Ingles in NC that were an heirloom variety, as well as some from an heirloom salad I got for lunch at Sea World. I'd like to try growing them but don't know if there's any truth to the aforementioned treatment.

Recently I buy these small tomatoes that are labeled "Cherry". But they are NOT cherry. They are just like mini Roma. I like the taste. So I have saved seeds.

I also buy often "Heirloom" tomatoes from Trader Joes and save seeds. Last year I got one that I liked. Planted it and turned out to be "Ananas Noire". I loved it. Also got a large red cherry. It turned out to be a determinant and productive.

Seysonn

rweakley, if you have saved tomato seeds, then the chance that they will germinate is excellent. I know some vegetables and fruits are treated to prevent germination, but I do not believe this is done, or can be done, with tomatoes. Certainly, I have never run across a tomato, store bought, commercial, or otherwise, that I was not able to save seed from and germinate when I desired to do so. There are a few tomatoes that are parthenocarpic and can produce tomatoes without setting seed, so I have rarely seen tomatoes without seeds in them, but if you can get seeds out of a tomato, they should be viable, if the seeds are treated properly. Proper treatment might consist of fermenting them, or even just spreading them around on a napkin or paper towel with your finger and letting them dry, then keeping them at room temperature or a bit cooler, and keeping them dry, and they should do fine for at least a couple of years.

Sweet. I was on vacation with the fam a couple years back and really liked that heirloom I bought. That was the first time I had seen heirlooms at the store. It was cool being able to try the fruit first and then deciding to keep seeds rather than buying a random seed variety online. They've been in the fridge since then. I think I'll try to grow it this year as well as a purple Cherokee. I have to grow in buckets unfortunately. I got stationed in So Cal, and our new place has a minimal yard.

Sweet. I was on vacation with the fam a couple years back and really liked that heirloom I bought. That was the first time I had seen heirlooms at the store. It was cool being able to try the fruit first and then deciding to keep seeds rather than buying a random seed variety online. They've been in the fridge since then. I think I'll try to grow it this year as well as a purple Cherokee. I have to grow in buckets unfortunately. I got stationed in So Cal, and our new place has a minimal yard.

rweakley, As fcivish said, they will grow!

As far as I know the only veggies that get treated to prevent sprouting are potatoes!

Sorry about the pic that I promised, I forgot about this post.

I didn't notice the thing below that say's: Check here if you would like post replies emailed to you. I checked it this time!

I grew some from the saved seeds last year and they are a keeper. I saved seeds again.

I've been experimenting with supermarket tomato seeds for a while now. See Supermarket tomato I, II, and III threads. These are from batch 2.

I've grown seeds from supermarket paste tomatoes. They grew into extremely vigorous plants that produced fruit surprisingly true to type. I should try that again sometime!

I have planted several seeds from store bought OP/Heirloom/hybrid tomatoes. This year I had 4 of them . One turned out as mule but other 3 did real well.

Sey