Saving tomato seeds

The cherry tomatoes in my new garden plot - sprawling and unkempt as they are from the last guy - taste fabulous. I really haven't liked raw tomatoes, but these are like candy! Since I don't know what specific variety they are, and they are prolific, I am designating them the subject of my trial attempt at seed saving.

(Apparently seed saving only works with heirlooms, since hybrid seeds might produce a tomato with different qualities. These cherries might be hybrids, unfortunately, but at the least it's good practice for when my black krims are ready!)

I've read up a bit on the method to save tomato seeds, and it looks like a simple process. The point is to remove the germination-inhibiting goo from around the seeds; this is usually done by fermentation:

1) scoop seeds and gel (goo) into a small container

2)add a bit of water, either same amount as goo, or a few tbsp

3)cover loosely so some air can get in/out

4)let it ferment for a few days in a warm location (not too long, though, or seeds will start to germinate). Good seeds should sink (per Patrick)

5)scoop off scum
(5.5 some say keep rinsing out scum/bits)

6)sieve seeds out

7) dry the seeds on paper plate or coffee filter (per Patrick)

There's some differences between sets of directions, but overall the general process is the same.

Here's some links to good directions:

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seedsave/2002084456024410.html

http://gardening.about.com/od/totallytomatoes/ss/TomatoSeeds.htm

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/23/

Here's my goo. I used about 10 cherry tomatoes. I ate what was left of most of them :)

I poked a bunch of holes in the saran wrap, and put the container on top of the fridge.

We'll see!

Update 9/26: an coherent, opaque film has formed on the surface. I added a bit more water since the goo seemed really thick, like a lot of the water had evaporated (we have 15% humidity here)

Update 10/1: Was it supposed to grow mold? Grey and black fuzz quickly covered the film. But, when I tried to take off the filmy layer, it and the mold came off in one piece so I guess it was okay. The pic below shows a bit of the mold and the seeds after I drained all the liquid.

I spread the seeds to dry on a coffee filter. Hard to unclump them!

Green Thumb Sunday: practice with macro

Here's some pics I took yesterday with the macro setting on my camera. When I had to get a new camera after my old one broke, I made sure to buy one with manual controls and the ability to get within a few cm in macro mode. I really haven't explored most of the options yet, but it's fun to take simple close-up shots.

Squirrel BYOC party at my plot

I think I now have a pretty good circumstantial case that the squirrels come to my plot to sit and eat the corn they steal from other plots. Here's the clues:

1. Thoroughly-knawed corn cobs left on the bricks surrounding my compost pile
2. Watching vigorous rustling in my garden neighbor's corn patch, and then watching a squirrel burst out of the patch with a cob and take off
3. Happening upon them hanging out, looking guilty:


and running like the little looters they are :)


(by the way, BYOC means Bring Your Own Corn)

I have no corn in my plot this year, but I grew a few last year in my first little plot. I planted the corn before I realized I had no idea when to harvest it. With no one to advise me, the internet was a vague guide, so what the weevils and ants didn't get was mushy and no good. Oh well, always worth a try! And in the garden area I have plots in this year, I'm glad I don't have any corn - the squirrels and raccoons feast and plunder under the cloak of night, leaving the plot owner to find complete wastage come morning.

Makin' it happen: Artic gardening

I don't have anything new to post, because nothing new is happening: almost all my tomatoes are still green, the squash is still producing, the new plot is still weedy (although a lot less so!)

But this article on MSN made me happy: greenhouse gardening above the Arctic Circle. I'm surprised that the greenhouse doesn't need any additional heating! But, that makes it a perfect example of how much one can do without artificially changing the environment: simply make a room with a clear ceiling and let the 24hr sun do all the work. Too bad it is commercial and not a community garden, but it sounds like they do a lot of educational outreach.

The lady interviewed in the article commented on how 24hrs of sunlight sped up the growth process, allowing plants to grow/mature faster than normal during the short 59-day season. But what about photoperiodism? Doesn't night length signal flowering (either short or long night length, depending on type of plant)? If there's no night, how do plants know to flower and produce fruit?
Also, I've learned from indoor grow lights that different wavelengths of light cause different types of growth in plants. Doesn't the sharp angle of the sun up north influence the relative amounts of different wavelengths of light?

Dream acreage here I come! You might have to squint

I just calculated that I now have approximately 1.48 hundredths of an acre!

1 acre = 43,560 sq ft
1/3 plot: 15.75ft x 10.3 ft = 162.225 sq ft = 0.00372, 0.372% or 3.7 thousandths of an acre
new plot: 15.75ft x 30.9ft = 486.675 sq ft = 0.0111, 1.11% or 1.11 hundredths of an acre
Grand Total: 1.48% of an acre

I've always believed in rampant baseless extrapolation so here we go:

I started out with a plot last year in another garden (on the other side of the city), that was about 100 sq ft (I gave up that first plot for my current 1/3: 100->160sqft). This gives me 3 data points, or garden acquisitions, total. Plotting my total square footage at each of these changes (y axis), by how many months had elapsed since I began community gardening, gives the line to the right.

Extrapolating linearly, at this rate it will only take me 76 years to acquire an entire acre. Wow. I have some good longevity genes on my side, but that's still pushing it. Not to mention that the community gardens only allow you 2 plots total (which is why this is baseless extrapolation - merely an excuse to graph something).

Clearly I need another plan.....

weed to girl ratio 1000000:1

I am just as excited as I was a few days ago about getting another, entire plot - quadrupling my gardening space - but I am now experiencing just how hard it is to undue someone else's neglect. I am also experiencing the irony of getting so much land but having to dig up stubborn taprooted weeds from every inch of it.

Here's the plot. You might be thinking "hey, at least there's no weeds under that black landscaping fabric" but you'd be wrong.

However, for my troubles, I've inherited some new plants that managed to grow amongst the voracious weeds. I'm not sure if it's ironic, but it's definitely more squash.

I now have: butternut squash, yellow squash(no!) and zucchini, lemon cucumber, cabbage, some fancy broccoli that may never flower, and a swarming mass of unsupported cherry tomato vines. Rumor has it there's a couple of pepper plants in there, but I haven't gotten to those beds yet.

I weeded 4 hours Saturday and 5 hours Sunday, and I'm not even done with 1/3 of the plot. I thought I'd rototill it, but realized that would just cut up the weed roots and multiply the weeds. So I have to go dig up as much of the roots as I can by hand, with a shovel. My hamstrings are so sore from bending and pulling!

However, I'm starting to acquire a taste for my new fresh insta-cherry tomatoes off the vine! Tonight I made a fabulous roasted tomato salad dressing with them.

Colors of the Garden