Comparison of different seed preservation techniques?

[TheMad_Poet]

When I ferment, I try to get as much juice as I can in with the seeds. Some varieties are less juicy than others, so I'll borrow juice from another variety. I find 3-4 days about right. I use clear plastic cups so I can see whats going on, and cover tight w/saran wrap (keeps any fruit flies out that may show up). Sometimes I get a cap, sometimes not. If I swirl the mixture daily I think it may keep a cap from forming. I always dump into a screen sieve when ready, and scrub against the screen to loosen remaining particles. Then into a cup and repeat rinse til water is clean. I dump back into the sieve, blot the bottom with paper towel, then smack onto a folded paper towel, and blot them dry with another. Scrape from towel to paper plate with variety name, then onto the fire place mantle, or a top shelf somewhere and forget about em. 3 weeks to a month later I package. I did some germ tests on 5 yr old seeds this fall and got 90-98% results. I will check out the oxy method, tried it once but didn't really know what I was doing. Peace all, and looking forward to spring.
Just reviewed the oxyclean and will bookmark it. He whacks em out just like I do, but I like a paper towel first, fold it and press and you will get rid of a lot more moisture right off the bat.

kenny_j

[GoDawgs]

I'm trying to access the Unconventionaltomato site for the oxyclean formula and the site won't come up. I had it come up before after just typing in the plain .com addy and bookmarked it. Now I can't get it to come up at all no matter what I do. Should have copied off the information the first time "just in case" something like this happened.

Anyone else having trouble accessing it?

[Tormahto]

I have to first question the use of store bought tomatoes for an experiment. Such tomatoes, here in the off season, are usually picked green, and then gassed, to arrive at the market at just the right ripeness. Are those seeds always mature, and would they have excellent germination no matter the method of cleaning?

[Frosti]

I have to first question the use of store bought tomatoes for an experiment. Such tomatoes, here in the off season, are usually picked green, and then gassed, to arrive at the market at just the right ripeness. Are those seeds always mature, and would they have excellent germination no matter the method of cleaning?

Of course heirloom seeds would be better, but I don't think I'd have the heart to waste so many good tomatoes on this experiment. I did take care to use ripe tomatoes. The packaging says that the tomatoes ripened on the truss but off the plant. Since I've never used the oxidation method before, I did a small germination test immediately after the process to make sure I didn't inadvertently kill the seeds. 3/3 germinated, so there's that. I don't think green picked tomatoes are an issue, as long as they were in the mature green stage, which they have to be to properly ripen into an attractive and sellable product. I have sown seeds from tomatoes that were weeks away from ripeness, and they germinated, so I do believe that nature makes sure that the most important thing - the seeds - mature first. Even if the germination rate was subpar, it would be that way for all batches, since I mixed them all prior to the division into batches.

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[MissS]

@GoDawgs I can not access the site either.

[MissS]

The majority of the time I ferment my seeds. On occasion I do use the Oxi Clean method especially if I do not have enough juice from the tomato to have a good ferment. I will use 1 cup of semi-hot water to 1 teaspoon of Oxi clean. Add the seeds, stir and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes. I sometimes will stir them while I am waiting. Leaving them longer does not seem to hurt them.

Once the time is up I pour them into a strainer. Scrub them against the screen and rinse a few times to get all of the debris off. Then I dry them as usual.

[GoDawgs]

@MissS , thanks for that! I don't mind doing the ferment. But that's handy to know about using the Oxiclean for those times when there's not enough juice.

[zeedman]

When I ferment, I try to get as much juice as I can in with the seeds. Some varieties are less juicy than others, so I'll borrow juice from another variety. I find 3-4 days about right. I use clear plastic cups so I can see whats going on, and cover tight w/saran wrap (keeps any fruit flies out that may show up). Sometimes I get a cap, sometimes not. If I swirl the mixture daily I think it may keep a cap from forming. I always dump into a screen sieve when ready, and scrub against the screen to loosen remaining particles. Then into a cup and repeat rinse til water is clean. I dump back into the sieve, blot the bottom with paper towel, then smack onto a folded paper towel, and blot them dry with another. Scrape from towel to paper plate with variety name, then onto the fire place mantle, or a top shelf somewhere and forget about em. 3 weeks to a month later I package. I did some germ tests on 5 yr old seeds this fall and got 90-98% results. I will check out the oxy method, tried it once but didn't really know what I was doing. Peace all, and looking forward to spring.
Just reviewed the oxyclean and will bookmark it. He whacks em out just like I do, but I like a paper towel first, fold it and press and you will get rid of a lot more moisture right off the bat.

kenny_j

That is essentially the same method I use; but I stir twice a day (usually) so seldom get a mold cap. What I do get is froth, and a characteristic smell that tells me fermentation is taking place. Using the same stirring stick helps to transfer the culture to new containers. It usually takes 3-4 days, but I check often to see if the membranes have detached. If left too long, the seeds will begin to sprout, and are basically unsalvageable at that point. Been there, done that, that's why I always do several lots of any variety I'm saving.

For me, one of the advantages of using fermentation is the ability to separate not only debris, but to pour off bad seed with the debris. The good seeds sink, and properly dried & stored, will have a very high germination rate. After rinsing & decanting until only seed is left, I pour them into a fine strainer, and place the strainer on paper towels to wick away most of the moisture. I then spread the seeds around on newsprint to further remove any clinging moisture, then spread them on some used cafeteria trays to dry. If allowed to remain on the newsprint, the seeds will probably stick, unless pushed loose until dry.

I don't have a moisture tester either (I doubt many gardeners do) but in Winter, the HVAC lowers the humidity enough for the seeds to reach the proper moisture level. This means I am leaving the trays cross-stacked on a shelf for several months, until the outdoor temps get down into the single digits. My admittedly unscientific indication for proper drying is that I get sweater lightning when pulling off a shirt. Then I package the seeds in freezer bags, which can be either stored in a drawer (my preferred method) or frozen. The advantage of freezer bags is that they can be rolled up to expel excess air. I read a Spanish study years ago, which documented the importance of low oxygen for long term seed storage - even at room temperature. Sadly, although I had bookmarked that link, I lost it in a hard drive crash. That philosophy seems to work, I get at least decent germination even after 7-8 years, and have yet to completely loose any bean or tomato even after 10.

[GoDawgs]

I basically ferment mine like @TheMad_Poet but don't stir them up during the process so there's always a cap in the glass.
No paper towel but I dump mine on a square of wax paper that's on a paper plate and separate the seeds with a toothpick. Then I write the variety name, quantity of seeds and the date cleaned on the plate and let them dry 2-3 weeks on one of my seed starting shelves before storing them.



Several days ago I tried on more Maglia Rosa the OxyClean method @MissS posted and it sure worked fast! It's nice to know that for those times when there's not a lot of juice and no other tomatoes to get juice from.