I'd like to try and save some seeds this year from my Black Krim and Matina tomatoes.
All my toms are being grown really close together, is it worth trying to save them. I'm afraid of cross pollination with the other varieties I'm growing.
I've never saved tomato seeds before.
Thanks for any help.
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GomoIsGardening
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MaryAnn, I will be interested in the responses of more knowledgeable tomato gardeners.
My own tomato patch is a complete mix of varieties. For 20+ years I have saved the seed from one variety and have never noticed a change in the plants or fruit.
I didn't even think about cross-pollination of the varieties until other heirlooms became common in my garden about 6 or 7 years ago. There was always the 1 heirloom and a half dozen others - usually hybrids.
I will say that I have had a potato-leaf, Bloody Butcher, in my garden the last 3 or 4 years and I've been reluctant to save the seed. Maybe someone can comment of potato-leaf vs. regular-leaf and any special need for separation, as well.
Matina, I believe, is a potato-leaf variety.
Steve
My own tomato patch is a complete mix of varieties. For 20+ years I have saved the seed from one variety and have never noticed a change in the plants or fruit.
I didn't even think about cross-pollination of the varieties until other heirlooms became common in my garden about 6 or 7 years ago. There was always the 1 heirloom and a half dozen others - usually hybrids.
I will say that I have had a potato-leaf, Bloody Butcher, in my garden the last 3 or 4 years and I've been reluctant to save the seed. Maybe someone can comment of potato-leaf vs. regular-leaf and any special need for separation, as well.
Matina, I believe, is a potato-leaf variety.
Steve
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Francis Barnswallow
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I'm on the 4th generation of my tomato plant I got 3 years ago. I never saved seeds. Some tomatoes just dropped to the ground and then started to grow tiny new tomato plants. I then dug them up and put them in pots to grow to the size of transplants and then finally planted them to become VERY productive tomato plants.
Distance between plants in the garden doesn't matter. Pollen covered bees will hit every plant in the garden in no particular order. Most of the seeds in a bee pollinated flower/fruit will be self pollinated because of the structure of the flower.
Walmart sells 5"x7" organza drawstring sachets for around $5 per dozen in the party supply aisle, and they work well for bagging buds to keep the bees off. If you decide to do that bag early in the season for better fruit set. If you decide not to bag blossoms you might also have less crossing in the first fruits of the season because bees are not keyed into tomato flowers yet.
Walmart sells 5"x7" organza drawstring sachets for around $5 per dozen in the party supply aisle, and they work well for bagging buds to keep the bees off. If you decide to do that bag early in the season for better fruit set. If you decide not to bag blossoms you might also have less crossing in the first fruits of the season because bees are not keyed into tomato flowers yet.
I don't thing tomatoes will cross polinate because they do not put pollen in the air like corn that must make the corn produce. Corns will cross when planted with a field corn or other varities. I think that tomatoes have to be changed by man to form a hybrid in a special enviroment. I might be wrong so who has the correct answer?
Last edited by Bobberman on Thu May 26, 2011 10:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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GomoIsGardening
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