[q]I am not an expert on seed-saving, but I have done alot of seed saving over the years. 1) I would assume 4 weeks of drying to be enough for peppers, but am not sure. Try it, experiments are fun. But remember, don’t get discouraged because it is common for pepper seeds to take up to 3 weeks to sprout. A little bottom heat may speed up the germination. 2) Saving tomato seeds is a little more difficult. Recommended is to ferment the seeds in their own pulp and juices first, in order to decay the geletanous coating that surrounds each tomato seed. (for instructions on how to do this, write me, or consult a gardening book.) The gelatin coating will inhibit sprouting. After the coating is decayed through bacterial action, and then dried, they will sprout very well indeed. 3) Do not use a dehydrator unless you can GAURANTEE that the temperature will never exceed 110 F. Temperatures above that can spell death to a living seed.[/q]
[a]
I have a dehydrator with a temp. Control that goes from 85 – 145 degrees. I’m not sure what you mean by fermenting the tomato seeds, but have left them with the gel around them although I did take most of it off. Do you mean leave tomato slices out to dry, then take the seeds out?[/a]
[a]
Most of the seed saving articles I’ve seen concerning tomatoes indicates that you cut the fully ripe (a little beyond what you’d normally pick) and premium (best on plant) tomatoe in half, squeeze the seed-filled goo into a bucket with a little water and let it sit for a few days – 2 or 3 or so. When it’s nice and nasty, put in some more water and stir vigorously. Then let sit for a couple of hours. The goop is supposed to float to the surface and the seeds are supposed to sink. Poor off the goop into your compost or mulch (waste not, want not), take out the tomatoe seeds and spread them out on wax paper to dry. When fully dry, put them in a container and keep in a cool dry and dark place until ready to use. I’m not sure how long they’ll keep – I’ve seen reports from 1 to 10 years… Anyone?[/a]
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