Can't save seeds, plant wont let me

[Kikaida]

So my Belgian giant refuses to give up viable seeds. I've left the fruit on until they were quite mature but after washing out the ferment, the seeds left are...Hallow? Not really hallow but, puffed out and super brittle. They just come apart.

Oh well, that plant has been relegated to my fatter-pillars (horn worms) to enjoy.

[KarenO]

Perhaps try with a less ripe fruit. Ripe, not at all overripe. How long are you fermenting? Sounds to me that your seeds are rotting. Try a just ripe fruit and either just wash the seeds and rub the gel off in a little sieve. Or ferment indoors room temp for no more than five days.
KarenO

[AlittleSalt]

Kikaida, when you go to ferment the seeds, take some of the seeds (directly out of the tomato) and put them in a fine mesh sieve. Rub them until there is no more jell. Dry them as usual over a couple weeks.

This means skipping the fermentation process, but it should give you seeds for the next time you want to plant them. Of course you could do a germination test too. I'm growing some Lime Green Salad tomato seeds/plants saved back in 2007 this way.

Ask Worth

[KC.Sun]

Has anyone tried saving seeds with OxiClean? I found this on Terry's Blog. http://tomatoaddict.blogspot.com/200...-oxyclean.html

Does it work well?

[AlittleSalt]

KC.Sun, The Oxyclean method does the same thing as rubbing the jell off the seeds.

A preferred method is to ferment the seeds because fermentation helps remove diseases from the seeds. No other tested method does this...so far

But sometimes, we need to get creative. Oxyclean works for saving viable seeds. So does a lot of other ways.

Kikaida, I had thought about several things. One being that the chemicals in your batch of tomatoes may be off on the acidic side. In other words, they are basically eating their own seeds up. If so, dilute them in water while fermenting. Add as much water as you see fit - guess at it - or add a cup of water. I've done that many times, and it produced seeds that germinated at 100%.

I'm learning.
I'm hoping the fall garden of tomatoes produce so I can try saving some seeds using ten parts water to one part muriatic acid. I won't share seeds saved like this, but it will be interesting.

[Kikaida]

Yeah, its weird. These seeds are small and atypical of the average seed. They are more round than flat. Thanks for the advice all.