Val said:
>> Question: Tomato seeds: Can I save tomato seeds from the ones I pick to eat, or do I have to let some get REALLY super ripe on the vine for seeds to be viable. I just thought of this, as I've never saved tomato seeds yet.
What I read always says "let them get as ripe as possible on the plant before picking". But I never tried saving less-ripe seeds. I think the effort of collecting, fermenting, cleaning, drying and labeling seeds is enough work that most people try to let the plant do its job completely before they step in and start working. You do want healthy, vigorous seeds, and ripening sufficiently is what makes them viable.
But if you expect the plants to die before you can leave a few ripe ones on the vine for more time (an extra week or two?), there's always experimentation. Maybe call it "practice" at fermenting, cleaning and drying. After you ferment, clean and dry some seeds from just-ripe tomatoes, sprout 10-20 on a damp coffee filter in a baggie. If few sprout, they were not ripe enough.
After all, "common wisdom" is often wrong. People and websites giving advice are no doubt right: "It is BETTER to collect seeds from over-ripe fruit so you know that the natural process of ripening is complete." But is it NECESSARY? If you're willing to accept low germination rates from unripe seed, and some sickly seedlings, you can collect less-ripe seeds and then test them to see what % are viable.
(The reason to ferment the seeds before cleaning and drying is to get rid of the "slime" that is loaded with germination inhibitors. If you don't ferment them, maybe you can reduce the dormancy with dilute hydrogen peroxide when you try to germinate them.. )
But my suggestion would be to heed every seed-saving site that I've visited. Leave some fruits on the vine until they are very over-ripe. Cracked and damaged fruits might be left on the vine if you have few enough of that tomato that you just HAVE TO eat most of them. I guess you would find out if they had rotted after you pick them.
