Some advice on bagging Tomato seeds for saving.

[gixxerific]

I pretty much know how to bag tomatoes. I have been making my own bags out of Agribon. Still working on the right size and technique though.

I am to believe you should bag early in the year. I was a bit lazy and didn't but I did bag a few not long ago since the weather was finally cooperating. But it is about to go into heat overdrive again for who knows how long. Which means the blossoms, well won't (might not) blossom. What do I do if all my bagged selections don't come to fruition. Do I keep trying or do I wait until late summer fall when things are a bit cooler? Is that even a good idea since, especially in the fall the plants are winding down and tired? Would I even want to save seed from a late fruit?

I am going to save seed from the first of my fruit hoping that they are not cross pollinated. But I would really like to trade seed instead of just receiving seed. I would not like it if I give someone a seed that was not was it was intended to be. For me it is what it is but for others like I said that is not good.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Dono

p.s. there are a million blooms everywhere. At what point do you bag your tomatoes? When they are just appearing or maybe later when they are a bit yellow but haven't quite opened up yet? That I believe is another key I should figure out.

[soil]

I get them early if I can as the first fruits are usaually of the best quality. still doing some cross pollination here though. I use a very fine mesh cloth. like a real thin t-shirt would be. hand pollinate either be it a cross or to continue a seed line. then cover the flower. once the fruit is set the bag comes off and the fruit is labeled at the stem with a small piece of colored string.

I also just let them cross pollinate at wild and select from the best fruits on the best plants. I love finding the surprises the cross pollinated seeds bring.