Seed Saving Question

[cdg]

I was wanting to save seed from my earliest Bloody Butcher tomato , but it formed during a cold period and is shaped strangely. Like 2 tomatoes fused together with 3 peckers formed into the area where they are fused together. My question is:are these seeds going to produce strange tomatoes next year ??? Should I wait on a later better formed tomato??
Thganks
CDG

[dice]

Well, it was probably self-pollinated (probably not many other
kinds of tomato flowers around when it set), and if so, the seeds
would have the same genes as any other fruit formed from a
flower that was self-pollinated on that plant.

In other words, you can save seeds from that fruit with
confidence that they will be Bloody Butcher seeds.
(Environmental conditions that produce oddly shaped
fruit do not affect the genetics of the seeds in that
fruit.)

[robin303]

Off topic maybe but do you guys save seeds in the freezer or pantry, bookshelf or ect. Whats the best way.

[cdg]

"Off topic maybe but do you guys save seeds in the freezer or pantry, bookshelf or ect. Whats the best way."

I use a clear plastic storage box with a lid that fits fairly well but is not air tight. In the bottom of the box I place about one inch of dessicant (sp?) packs then add the seed packs.This goes on a shelf in spare bedroom.I change the dessicant packs each year(We discard them at the place I work) or recharge the old ones. Seems to work.
CDG

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by cdg

I was wanting to save seed from my earliest Bloody Butcher tomato , but it formed during a cold period and is shaped strangely. Like 2 tomatoes fused together with 3 peckers formed into the area where they are fused together. My question is:are these seeds going to produce strange tomatoes next year ??? Should I wait on a later better formed tomato??
Thganks
CDG

The strange shape could be the result of cat facing which is quite common for some large fruited varieties when pollenization occurs during cold weather, or it could be the result of fused blossoms.

In any case I never save seeds from abnormal looking fruits b'c I don't know their origin.

If I were you I'd use later appearing normal fruits for seed saving. Just my opinion.

And of course I have no idea if you're bagging blossoms or just using geographic distance to help ensure pure seeds and that factors in as well b/c if not bagging blossoms then it's important to know when the highest number of possible insect pollinators are around in your area..

[dice]

[seed storing for maximizing viability]

There is an ideal moisture level (dry, without being
completely without moisture at all) and an ideal
temperature (below freezing) for seed saving. Seed
preservation banks freeze them. Carolyn quoted
a ideal temperature once, but I forget what exactly
it was (-34F?).

Someone at GW informally estimated it as "dry storage,
good for another 5 years of viability, refrigerated storage,
good for another 5 years beyond that". That is actually
a modest goal. People got better than 50% germination
last year on tomato seeds from a Univ. of Missouri seed bank
that had been stored in 1964. They didn't sprout in 3 days
(more like 3 weeks), but a lot of them sprouted, considering
how old they were. (A pre-soak in weak tea-water with a few
drops of fish emulsion helped.)

Brief overview of research on the subject:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archiv...8/seed0998.htm

[kelleyville]

More off topic, do I have to bag a flower before saving seed in an OP?

[Gobig_or_Gohome_toms]

Originally Posted by kelleyville

More off topic, do I have to bag a flower before saving seed in an OP?

Only if you want to ensure there is no cross pollination from insects if the tomatoes are grown close together.

[kelleyville]

One more dumb question....how far away should each variety be from each other so I would not need to bag?

[dice]

[how far apart]

Opinions vary. Some have said 50', other research has found
cross-pollenation occurring in rows distances of hundreds of
feet apart. It probably depends on the different kinds of
pollenator insects in different areas, what other plants are
around, general terrain, etc.

[fourtgn]

Originally Posted by cdg

I change the dessicant packs each year(We discard them at the place I work) or recharge the old ones. Seems to work.
CDG

How do you recharge old dessicant packs? Or did I understand that correctly?

Thanks,
fourtgn

[ContainerTed]

Some dessicant packs can be recharged with a short stay in an oven. The kind that is purple crystals when good and turns clear when used up. Used to do this in the service with dessicant modules for gyroscopes and such.

I know we had to put them into an airtight container to cool down so they wouldn't absorb the moisture in the air before we could use them.

[fourtgn]

That makes perfect sense, I just never thought about it. Thanks for the info.

fourtgn