From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Newcastle, CA

Did you see what Bnot is doing? that's a lot of maters right there. He's definitely got the odds in his favor.

6/13/2018 3:53:35 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

Odds will not be in my favor..i have a seed plantation. Will have maybe 5 or 6 tomatoes set on each plant. Probably only a few plants to be grown for size. I am trying figure out how to harvest seeds from that many tomatoes. With my current technique it will take a few hundred hours. I have tried to look to see what is available for commercial seed harvest equipment. So far, I have not come up with anything. Does anyone know of something available or will I be trying to design my own machine next winter?

6/13/2018 6:01:15 PM

Newcastle, CA

you may have to go vineyard style on 'em.

toss 20 in a bucket, take off your shoes and mash em up with your feet. then add the trisodium phosphate and all that.

6/13/2018 6:11:37 PM

Wixom MI.

Hmm... tomato soup Yum !!!

6/13/2018 6:40:34 PM

Central NY

Sweet!.......athletes tounge .....

6/13/2018 7:37:50 PM

On a cliff in the desert

How about put a tomato into a blender, and puree it. Put a cheesecloth over a container. Pour the mixture over the cheesecloth into the container. The seeds should be on the cheesecloth.

6/13/2018 7:55:18 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Good idea.

6/13/2018 7:57:48 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

keep the ideas for seed harvesting coming. I am thinking of moving from the trisodium phosphate method to the fermination method. That way I could use to garden house without tsp all over my yard. Congratulations, Austin on your first 3 pound tomato. You have a long ways to go to take the title mr three pounder though. It is a sign, you have grown a 3 pound from a seed from the original mr 3 pounder. I hope you have more tomatoes coming this year.

6/13/2018 8:15:37 PM

Virginia

Cabelas has a grinder that separates seeds. Probably any grinder would work with the right part for screening.

6/13/2018 8:16:16 PM

Newcastle, CA

I still have two HUGE larue's to pick and some others. :) hoping one is a 4 pounder!

6/13/2018 8:26:53 PM

central Nc

I don't understand why it would take hundreds of hours? Ferment for 3 days in a bucket. I do it every year.

6/13/2018 8:35:42 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

I need to keep the genetics separated. Since the giants are indeterminate the tomatoes on each plant will ripen at different times. 100 plants x 5 tomatoes each is harvest a 500 tomatoes. My current method with tsp takes about 1/2 hour start to finish to get seeds drying. Each seed needs to have a GT code. From which I can track the genetics, which plant those genetics came from and probably truss position and tomato number of that cluster. All seeds going out will be labled such as GT A6b3. It is meant for popularizing giant tomato growing without destroying the value of individual top seeds. I am looking at fermentation but would faster method of separating the seeds from the pulp.

6/13/2018 8:51:46 PM

Grittyville, WA

Dont half the seeds float and half sink? Or do they all sink after fermenting... Well bnot I think you will have an interesting year no doubt... See if you can find a seed company to work with if you cant distribute them yourself. Try Territorial! Cool project.

6/13/2018 8:52:06 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

My first choice of target is Bonnie Plants. They have 70 nurseries spread thru the country and distribite seedlings to Home Depots, Lowes and Walmarts. After i get GT website more developed...this will take a while,time is short while starting the plants, I will contact GreenEarthMediaGroup who is a publicity company for Bonnie Plants. I think seedlings will reach a wider group than seeds. If i fail with Bonnie, I have a few more ideas in mind. If I fail at all of them, I might have to buy a tomato farm. I will have enough seeds to keep me going for the rest of my life.

6/13/2018 9:05:11 PM

Lebanon, Oregon

You have quite the project BNOT. Admire your enthusiasm. How to manage all thes plants. You have the room? It takes all my time to manage 25 plants. Seed removal was my first thought. A portable corkscrew grape crusher for wine would work.

6/14/2018 2:49:11 AM

Lebanon, Oregon

And congrats on the first big tomato of the year Wint! Not bad for you first time. A lot bigger than most who have tried for years. And it's not just the genetics, its you as a grower!

6/14/2018 2:52:44 AM

Newcastle, CA

Thanks Rebel!

Next goal - 4 pounds!

6/14/2018 11:46:40 AM

Newcastle, CA

has anyone been using RO water for their outside grows? wondering if there is a substantial benefit.

6/15/2018 2:39:50 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

i am running a chorine filter on my garden water. I don't know if it helps, but with all the effort I have put into building biologicals, I would hate for m water to kill them.

6/15/2018 6:04:05 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Remember all us little guys when you’re rich and famous Bob.

6/15/2018 6:10:06 PM

Newcastle, CA

hmmm that is a good idea. i'll probably get one of those that screws onto the hose. there are a few on Amazon.

6/15/2018 6:43:49 PM

East Carbon, Utah

bnot - I've been on this seed saving kick for a few years now. Though there is wide variation, on average you can expect around 150 seeds per tomato, so about 7 tomatoes should get you close to your goal of 1,000 seeds per plant. Getting excellent, full pollination helps a lot.
If you don't have lots of bumblebees, consider an electric toothbrush or - other ideas?

Many hundreds of hours is about right. I use only the fermentation method (organic business), and in September often have 200+ batches going simultaneously. Trying to save seeds from nearly 600 varieties this year...

Seriously, I might consider the barefeet - mashing in a bucket method to speed things up!

Lots of related ideas and pictures posted on my blog (Delectation of Tomatoes), or a detailed pdf guide for seed saving is available if anyone's interested.

6/21/2018 2:21:40 AM

Oak Grove, Mn

Thanks for the input dale. I am a small seed producer as compared to you. Trying to get seeds from 600 varieties is amazing. September - October is going to be a busy time.

6/21/2018 5:44:23 AM

Oak Grove, Mn

Growers...if you really want to see what a tomato factory is, check out dale's(Seamsfaster) website.

https://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com

Scroll down to see it all. I wish I had 1/2 the ambition he has.

That Tamara variety looks like it might have some potential. It will be interesting to see what it will do in a tunnel with care.

6/21/2018 6:30:19 AM

Newcastle, CA

Yep, I bought quite a few packs of seeds from Dale.

6/21/2018 1:12:04 PM