Fermentation - what went wrong?

tam91 · February 8, 2011

I have saved two batches of seed from the Zima tomatoes I got at the store.

The first batch, it took a little while (inside the house, central heat) but I got a nice fungus mat. I dried them, and then germination tested them - 10 out of 10 germinated. So far so good (all of the seeds I sent out are from this batch).

The second batch that I tried, they sat for a long time. Never got a fungus mat or any sign of fungus at all. I gave up, rinsed them off, and dried them. Tried to germination test them - none germinated (it's been quite a while, I'm pretty sure they're not going to).

So... what may have gone wrong? What can I do differently?

If I don't see a fungus mat or anything, how long should I leave the seeds before rinsing and drying them?

February 8, 2011	#1
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Fermentation - what went wrong? I have saved two batches of seed from the Zima tomatoes I got at the store. The first batch, it took a little while (inside the house, central heat) but I got a nice fungus mat. I dried them, and then germination tested them - 10 out of 10 germinated. So far so good (all of the seeds I sent out are from this batch). The second batch that I tried, they sat for a long time. Never got a fungus mat or any sign of fungus at all. I gave up, rinsed them off, and dried them. Tried to germination test them - none germinated (it's been quite a while, I'm pretty sure they're not going to). So... what may have gone wrong? What can I do differently? If I don't see a fungus mat or anything, how long should I leave the seeds before rinsing and drying them?