Because I have grandiose plans of being an amateur horticulturist or something, I keep thinking I’m going to do more with a vegetable garden ‘next year’. It’s always ‘next year’.
So, in true over-ambitious Megs form I’ve decided to harvest some of the seeds out of a bunch of heirloom tomatoes we got from our CSA pickup. Like, in my head I think I’m actually going to plant them and nurture them into some healthy robust plants which will produce succulent and massive tomatoes.
Does that mean I never will and this is a waste? Heck no! Well, I have excellent intentions always.
Chances are I will forget I did this when Spring actually rolls around.
So, anyway, I found this eHow article about saving heirloom tomato seeds. And, guess what? It worked. Well, I guess I should say it has worked so far. I guess we’ll see next Spring when I plant them to see if they actually grow into plants and bear fruit.
You can visit the link above to get the whole step-by-step instructions.
The basics of it is, is that you squeeze out the seeds into a jar, fill up with water to 2 inches above the seeds, put the lid on and let it sit for three or four days while mold grows on the surface of the water. You pour out that gross moldy water and rinse the seeds in a sieve and lay them out to dry on a paper plate. Once they’re dried you save them in an envelope for next year.
I have to say, the idea of leaving a jar full of watery tomato seeds on my counter for three days to grow mold was kind of nasty. The soonest I could dump the water out I did. Blech.
So there’s my little spiel about being all domesticated and green-thumby. If I actually remember I have these seeds, and don’t lose them throughout the next 6 months, and I actually plant them, I’ll let y’all know how that goes.
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