"Lawrence Akutagawa" wrote in message
om...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

"tenacity" wrote in message
ups.com...
Of course, you could always go to the store and buy a tomato you like.

They usually come with seeds.


And, of course, it would be a crap shoot, knowing whether those seeds
would be the same as the parents. They could revert to something lame.

The usual litany about store bought tomatoes is that - unless you are
assured otherwise - those tomatoes are bred to be as hardy and tough as
can be such that they can withstand the kind of handling and processing
the backyard tomatoes cannot.

Do a web search on tomato seeds and you'll run across a number of vendors.
You'll be overwhelmed with the different varieties out there for the home
gardener. And unless you want to keep purchasing your seeds, opt for one
of the heirloom varieties. JoeSpareBedroom's comments apply to hybrids as
well as the store bought ones.


Gotta watch those heirlooms, though. Don't bet your whole season on them.
I've tried Rutgers a few times and they were lousy. Obviously, that doesn't
represent all heirlooms, though.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
And, of course, it would be a crap shoot, knowing whether those seeds would
be the same as the parents. They could revert to something lame.

Um, well.... not exactly. Tomatoes almost always cross with themselves
and many folk save tomato seed without any regard for outcrossing.
They are occasionally cross pollintated by insects but are not
attractive to them. Nevertheless, Tomatoes will grow over 95%
true-to-type without any regard for outcrossers. They do have a
dormancy which requires a certain amount of decompositon to occur
before they will germinate. This means you have to remove the pulp
along with the seeds and soak it in water until a really gross mold is
growing on the surface. This will overcome the dormancy and the tomato
seed will then germinate.

Having said that, I have never heard of anyone who wanted to save seed
form grocery store varieties. Those type of varieties are usually
grown with harvesting and storage in mind, not flavor. Most gardeners
want somthing different and often save their own seed from fruit they
have grown themselves using the above method.
Lawrence

In article .com,
"lwhaley" wrote:

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
And, of course, it would be a crap shoot, knowing whether those seeds would
be the same as the parents. They could revert to something lame.

Um, well.... not exactly. Tomatoes almost always cross with themselves
and many folk save tomato seed without any regard for outcrossing.
They are occasionally cross pollintated by insects but are not
attractive to them. Nevertheless, Tomatoes will grow over 95%
true-to-type without any regard for outcrossers. They do have a
dormancy which requires a certain amount of decompositon to occur
before they will germinate. This means you have to remove the pulp
along with the seeds and soak it in water until a really gross mold is
growing on the surface. This will overcome the dormancy and the tomato
seed will then germinate.

Having said that, I have never heard of anyone who wanted to save seed
form grocery store varieties. Those type of varieties are usually
grown with harvesting and storage in mind, not flavor. Most gardeners
want somthing different and often save their own seed from fruit they
have grown themselves using the above method.
Lawrence

Marglobe and Valiant and Rutger's o my.
Silver lady and silver Queen .. I'll quit as I'm showing my age )

Bill

--
S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade
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