Hi,

This year I grew some tomatoes in a pot on my patio, and after several
hard freezes, after all the other tomatoes had turned to a greenish
mush, there was left a single red tomato, with a skin that didn't seem
to be susceptible to all the previous freezes.

I couldn't really believe that there was an actual tomato which
withstood all the freezes we've had here in north texas, but on
the vine was a single tomato that seems to be somewhat impervious
to the cold. The skin isn't even wrinkled, and it looks like the
tomatoes I picked from the plant back in early December before
all the freezes started in from time to time.

I wonder what to do with it, and think maybe I should save the seeds
inside the tomato and try to start a new cold-resistant strain that
might prove profitable in some way.

What should I do to protect the seeds and start up a batch from
those seeds at this point?

I can't really tell which original type of tomato it was, since I had
three varieties planted in the same pot and I didn't keep track of
which plants were which. One was Early Girl, one was Heat Wave,
and I can't remember the other type.

Is there a good chance that if I keep the seeds and grow some
plants from them that all the plants will be more cold resistant than
the previous generation?

--
Elroy Willis
EAP Chief Editor and Newshound
http://web2.airmail.net/~elo/news

Save the seeds and plant them to see what you get is exactly what you should
do.

The only way to know if the traits are heritable is to grow plants from the
seeds.

You will need to cut open the fruit and carefully remove the seeds.

It will be a tricky matter removing the seeds from the pulp and drying them
but may be worth it if you can grow plants from them whith the traits you
suggest.


Elroy Willis wrote in message
...

Hi,

This year I grew some tomatoes in a pot on my patio, and after several
hard freezes, after all the other tomatoes had turned to a greenish
mush, there was left a single red tomato, with a skin that didn't seem
to be susceptible to all the previous freezes.

I couldn't really believe that there was an actual tomato which
withstood all the freezes we've had here in north texas, but on
the vine was a single tomato that seems to be somewhat impervious
to the cold. The skin isn't even wrinkled, and it looks like the
tomatoes I picked from the plant back in early December before
all the freezes started in from time to time.

I wonder what to do with it, and think maybe I should save the seeds
inside the tomato and try to start a new cold-resistant strain that
might prove profitable in some way.

What should I do to protect the seeds and start up a batch from
those seeds at this point?

I can't really tell which original type of tomato it was, since I had
three varieties planted in the same pot and I didn't keep track of
which plants were which. One was Early Girl, one was Heat Wave,
and I can't remember the other type.

Is there a good chance that if I keep the seeds and grow some
plants from them that all the plants will be more cold resistant than
the previous generation?

--
Elroy Willis
EAP Chief Editor and Newshound
http://web2.airmail.net/~elo/news

"Cereus-validus" expounded:

You will need to cut open the fruit and carefully remove the seeds.

It will be a tricky matter removing the seeds from the pulp and drying them
but may be worth it if you can grow plants from them whith the traits you
suggest.

I watched a show recently about a woman in Maine who saves heirloom
tomato seeds. What she does is squeezes the seeds out into canning
jars, then fills the jars with water and covers them with cheesecloth.
She lets it sit for a week or so, there's a disgusting mold that grows
on top; the fermentation cleans the pulp off the seeds. The good
seeds drop down to the bottom. She spoons the yuck off the top and
pours the seeds out onto cheesecloth and then rinses them and lets
them dry. Never tried it myself. YMMV.

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

"...........Just put the seeds on a sheet of newspaper they will dry off in
a day or so, then either remove them or leave them and sow them on it when
you are ready.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

Cereus-validus wrote in rec.gardens

Save the seeds and plant them to see what you get is exactly what you
should do.

The only way to know if the traits are heritable is to grow plants from the
seeds.

You will need to cut open the fruit and carefully remove the seeds.

It will be a tricky matter removing the seeds from the pulp and drying them
but may be worth it if you can grow plants from them whith the traits you
suggest.

I'm definitely gonna do that. What I'm curious about is what would
make the skin on this tomato impervious to cold? We've had at least
a dozen freezes around here, some of 'em even in the low 20's.

What could make the skin so freeze-proof, and I wonder if the
seeds will produce fruit with skin so thick it might be inedible or
something. I wonder if a freeze-resistant fruit skin will mean that
the leaves will also be more freeze-resistant?

I guess I'll have to wait till next winter to find out, but that'll
give me something to look forward to.

--
Elroy Willis
EAP Chief Editor and Newshound
http://web2.airmail.net/~elo/news

Elroy Willis wrote in message . ..


Is there a good chance that if I keep the seeds and grow some
plants from them that all the plants will be more cold resistant than
the previous generation?

To save the seeds, cut open the tomato, spoon out the goo, and put the
goo and seeds in a cup of water in a warm place. After fermentation,
you will be able to wash the goo off and dry the seeds. Then go ahead
and start your tomatoes from seed and see if they produce hardy tomato
fruits.

cross pollination with the cabbage family?????

Elroy Willis wrote:
I'm definitely gonna do that. What I'm curious about is what would
make the skin on this tomato impervious to cold? We've had at least
a dozen freezes around here, some of 'em even in the low 20's.

What could make the skin so freeze-proof, and I wonder if the
seeds will produce fruit with skin so thick it might be inedible or
something. I wonder if a freeze-resistant fruit skin will mean that
the leaves will also be more freeze-resistant?

I guess I'll have to wait till next winter to find out, but that'll
give me something to look forward to.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

cross pollination with the cabbage family?????

Elroy Willis wrote:
I'm definitely gonna do that. What I'm curious about is what would
make the skin on this tomato impervious to cold? We've had at least
a dozen freezes around here, some of 'em even in the low 20's.

What could make the skin so freeze-proof, and I wonder if the
seeds will produce fruit with skin so thick it might be inedible or
something. I wonder if a freeze-resistant fruit skin will mean that
the leaves will also be more freeze-resistant?

I guess I'll have to wait till next winter to find out, but that'll
give me something to look forward to.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

That is botanically impossible, Poi sucker.


wrote in message
...
cross pollination with the cabbage family?????

Elroy Willis wrote:
I'm definitely gonna do that. What I'm curious about is what would
make the skin on this tomato impervious to cold? We've had at least
a dozen freezes around here, some of 'em even in the low 20's.

What could make the skin so freeze-proof, and I wonder if the
seeds will produce fruit with skin so thick it might be inedible or
something. I wonder if a freeze-resistant fruit skin will mean that
the leaves will also be more freeze-resistant?

I guess I'll have to wait till next winter to find out, but that'll
give me something to look forward to.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Yes! The fermentation process removes the gel around the seed which is
a sprout inhibitor. The fermentation process also is supposed to kill
off disease spores or whatever is clinging to the seed. So it's put
it in the freezer container or what have you and let them sit around
until a bubbly mass of mold appears and then scrape that out of there
and dump them into a few layers of cheese cloth, rinse them off to
clean them off and then let them dry. Plant the resulting seed
however you plant others.

If the plants you planted, were hybrids, the resulting offspring from
you saved seed could be like one of the two parent plants on either
side, or their grandparents. or further back, or it could be like the
saved tomato, or one if it's relatives on either side. You may get a
good one like the one you saved, it's parents or grandparents...
you'll have to then save seed from those and cross back with the
parent.. and do that several generations in order to fix the traits
you like.

Good luck!

Janice

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 07:05:59 -0500, Ann wrote:

"Cereus-validus" expounded:

You will need to cut open the fruit and carefully remove the seeds.

It will be a tricky matter removing the seeds from the pulp and drying them
but may be worth it if you can grow plants from them whith the traits you
suggest.

I watched a show recently about a woman in Maine who saves heirloom
tomato seeds. What she does is squeezes the seeds out into canning
jars, then fills the jars with water and covers them with cheesecloth.
She lets it sit for a week or so, there's a disgusting mold that grows
on top; the fermentation cleans the pulp off the seeds. The good
seeds drop down to the bottom. She spoons the yuck off the top and
pours the seeds out onto cheesecloth and then rinses them and lets
them dry. Never tried it myself. YMMV.

"...........You may get a good one like the one you saved, it's parents or
grandparents...you'll have to then save seed from those and cross back with
the parent.. and do that several generations in order to fix the traits you
like. ......."

Sounds good,....BUT........"Cross back to the parent"?.
have you forgotten that the parent tomato is dead and gone before you even
sow the seed, let alone have it there to cross back to.
You just have to have several seasons of selection with the hope that the
trait that you want doesn't die out.






--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

in nature, by pollination probably correct. but there are other ways genes cross
species barriers, transposons AKA jumping genes are one way
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ult...ansposons.html

many of the tricks scientists use in recombinant DNA are found in nature. We use
viruses as vectors to carry wanted genes into plants. And some viruses in nature
pick up host DNA during replication and cart it out with them on the way out to the
next infection.

I was joking of course about cross pollination, but dont be so sure about the
survivability of cross pollinates. There are precious few in the animal world
(Ligers, mules) but plants are not so fussy about how many chromosomes they can have.
many are fine with double sets (4N). And needless to say, humans have been busy
creating crosses. Ingrid


"Cereus-validus" wrote:

That is botanically impossible, Poi sucker.


wrote in message
...
cross pollination with the cabbage family?????



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

in nature, by pollination probably correct. but there are other ways genes cross
species barriers, transposons AKA jumping genes are one way
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ult...ansposons.html

many of the tricks scientists use in recombinant DNA are found in nature. We use
viruses as vectors to carry wanted genes into plants. And some viruses in nature
pick up host DNA during replication and cart it out with them on the way out to the
next infection.

I was joking of course about cross pollination, but dont be so sure about the
survivability of cross pollinates. There are precious few in the animal world
(Ligers, mules) but plants are not so fussy about how many chromosomes they can have.
many are fine with double sets (4N). And needless to say, humans have been busy
creating crosses. Ingrid


"Cereus-validus" wrote:

That is botanically impossible, Poi sucker.


wrote in message
...
cross pollination with the cabbage family?????



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

in nature, by pollination probably correct. but there are other ways genes cross
species barriers, transposons AKA jumping genes are one way
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ult...ansposons.html

many of the tricks scientists use in recombinant DNA are found in nature. We use
viruses as vectors to carry wanted genes into plants. And some viruses in nature
pick up host DNA during replication and cart it out with them on the way out to the
next infection.

I was joking of course about cross pollination, but dont be so sure about the
survivability of cross pollinates. There are precious few in the animal world
(Ligers, mules) but plants are not so fussy about how many chromosomes they can have.
many are fine with double sets (4N). And needless to say, humans have been busy
creating crosses. Ingrid


"Cereus-validus" wrote:

That is botanically impossible, Poi sucker.


wrote in message
...
cross pollination with the cabbage family?????



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Cereus-validus wrote in rec.gardens


While researching freeze-resistant tomatoes, I ran across several
articles about the introduction of cold-water fish genes
into tomato plants. Whatever gene(s) that keep certain fish from
freezing can be taken out of the fish and introduced into different
plants like the tomato, to keep them from freezing, to a certain
degree.

Some people find such experimentation unacceptable or dangerous,
but I find it fascinating, actually.


That is botanically impossible, Poi sucker.

wrote in message

cross pollination with the cabbage family?????

Elroy Willis wrote:
I'm definitely gonna do that. What I'm curious about is what would
make the skin on this tomato impervious to cold? We've had at least
a dozen freezes around here, some of 'em even in the low 20's.

What could make the skin so freeze-proof, and I wonder if the
seeds will produce fruit with skin so thick it might be inedible or
something. I wonder if a freeze-resistant fruit skin will mean that
the leaves will also be more freeze-resistant?

I guess I'll have to wait till next winter to find out, but that'll
give me something to look forward to.

--
Elroy Willis
EAP Chief Editor and Newshound
http://web2.airmail.net/~elo/news