So I asked a friend of mine how to collect the seed from my present crop of tomatoes in order to have seeds to plant next season — this is what she told me to do:
“You need to identify the best plant (healthiest, strongest, prettiest, happiest) and on that plant identify the best tomato (same standards as above). Let it ripen on the vine, but not over-ripen.
Pick that tomato, set it on your kitchen counter for a day or two and smile upon it/smile as a result of it. Once it is perfectly ripe, cut it open and remove the seeds into a small bowl. Now eat the rest of it like it’s the gift from God we know it is. Let that small cup of seeds and juice sit on your kitchen counter for a day or two or three, until a layer of mould forms on top. Dispose of that layer of mould, and rinse the seeds clean. I usually get the tomato guts off them, then set to dry on a piece of foil or parchment, trying to spread them out so they don’t dry as a clump.
Once the seeds are dry, free them from the foil or parchment, put them in an envelope, and label (St. Pierre Slicer, and the date). They need to go through a period of being frozen, so here I just keep the envelope in an outbuilding for the winter (to replicate our season) but you can put them in your freezer for a month or two, which would work fine.
Obviously you can do this with more than one tomato, but even just one produces enough seeds to share.”
Oh my — so much to learn from a tomato! To live to nourish others — to die — to rise again (next season). And to think that God has chosen us and smiled lovingly upon all of us … enjoy the taste of that.
Alan
