Saving seeds from blanched tomatoes?

[mari.beth]

I want to make pomodoro sauce from my black plum tomatoes (VERY well-producing plants for me despite blight!) I need to blanch the tomatoes, but I want to save some of the seeds. If I follow the steps located in an earlier thread for fermenting / drying, will seeds from a tomato that has been blanched be viable? I never have saved seeds, so I have a lot to learn in this area!!

[KarenO]

if you have a lot of tomatoes of that variety, I would just save seed from one that you haven't blanched. A quick dip in hot water likely won't kill the seed but if I had plenty I wouldn't take the chance. Seed saved from 1 or 2 tomatoes will likely be plenty.
KarenO

[travis]

Yes, since you'll probably get 100 or more seeds from any single tomato, why not cut a few in half, remove the seeds and gel, ferment those for saving, and blanch the halves along with the wholes. I mean since your making sauce, what's the difference between blanching a few halves along with the remainder of wholes?

[amaliepiers]

Great suggestion Travis

[amaliepiers]

On second thoughts, should we save seed from plants that have had blights? It's a subject close to my heart, I am desperately fighting the dreaded yellow fungus right now, so I wonder if I saved seed from some of those tomatoes would the fungus possibly stay present in that seed? I heard that with affected potatoes ( I lost all mine earlier this year) you are supposed to dig up and get properly rid of all the little tubers and roots, so if these can store fungus could tomato seeds do the same?

[remy]

You can save seed from blanched tomatoes just fine. I save seeds for sale from the tomatoes I can or make sauce from all the time. It does not affect germination. Well if you left them sitting in the water too long, I suppose it could, but blanching to remove the skins is harmless.
Remy

[mari.beth]

Originally Posted by amaliepiers

On second thoughts, should we save seed from plants that have had blights? It's a subject close to my heart, I am desperately fighting the dreaded yellow fungus right now, so I wonder if I saved seed from some of those tomatoes would the fungus possibly stay present in that seed? I heard that with affected potatoes ( I lost all mine earlier this year) you are supposed to dig up and get properly rid of all the little tubers and roots, so if these can store fungus could tomato seeds do the same?

I cannot remember in which forum I read it, but I read a discussion on here where people were saying that blight did not stay present in the seed. I would like to find out more about that, though. I currently am fermenting some seeds from a plant that I did not start from seed last year, so I sure am hoping blight will not carry on in the seeds.

[remy]

Saving seed from plants with Early Blight is fine. It does not stay with the seeds.
Remy

[linzelu100]

Originally Posted by mari.beth

I cannot remember in which forum I read it, but I read a discussion on here where people were saying that blight did not stay present in the seed. I would like to find out more about that, though. I currently am fermenting some seeds from a plant that I did not start from seed last year, so I sure am hoping blight will not carry on in the seeds.

In one of my posts this summer we talked about that. I have early blight and wanted to save some seeds. It failed. I am not sure if it was the blight or not, (I had quite a few other fungus/diseases going on that were unidentified) but the seeds molded and turned a black color. None sank to the bottem of the water jar after fermentation. Owell. I'll have to search out more seed and try to prevent disease next year.

[remy]

Having Early Blight would not make the seeds bad like that. It must of been something else you had going on.
Remy