[Red_Devil 232]

Weekly Gardening Thread

The following is a link to a good article with pictures about saving tomato seeds.

Saving Heirloom Tomato Seeds

FReeper JerseyJohn61, in post #188, had a couple of sugestions also.

That seed saving method is pretty much the way I do it.

Just a few suggestions. Smooth out the seed gel with your fingers after it is in the container. This will help it mix easier with the added water.

When adding water, start by adding tablespoons at a time. The article claimed up to a cup. That's’ a lot unless you've cut up MANY toms of the same variety.

It may take 3-8 days for the mold to completely cover the container surface-depending on temperature conditions.

After rinsing the seeds clean, I DO USE a paper towel to soak up additional water. I then place a sheet of wax paper on a paper plate so the seeds won't dry and stick to the plate.

Don't forget to write the variety name and date on the plate. It should take about 7 days to two weeks for the seeds to totally dry out. Gage it by humidity conditions.

When wet, the seeds will clump together. As they are drying, i use a small pen knife to separate the seeds so they will dry faster and more evenly.

High shelves are usually the safest place to store the seeds during the drying process.

Weekly Gardening Thread

The following is a link to a good article with pictures about saving tomato seeds.

Saving Heirloom Tomato Seeds

FReeper JerseyJohn61, in post #188, had a couple of sugestions also.

That seed saving method is pretty much the way I do it.

Just a few suggestions. Smooth out the seed gel with your fingers after it is in the container. This will help it mix easier with the added water.

When adding water, start by adding tablespoons at a time. The article claimed up to a cup. That's’ a lot unless you've cut up MANY toms of the same variety.

It may take 3-8 days for the mold to completely cover the container surface-depending on temperature conditions.

After rinsing the seeds clean, I DO USE a paper towel to soak up additional water. I then place a sheet of wax paper on a paper plate so the seeds won't dry and stick to the plate.

Don't forget to write the variety name and date on the plate. It should take about 7 days to two weeks for the seeds to totally dry out. Gage it by humidity conditions.

When wet, the seeds will clump together. As they are drying, i use a small pen knife to separate the seeds so they will dry faster and more evenly.

High shelves are usually the safest place to store the seeds during the drying process.

[Red_Devil 232]

Ping to the Weekly Gardening Ping List.

I hope all of you will stop by.

This is typically a low volume ping list. Once a week for the thread and every once in a while for other FR threads posted that might be of interest.

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[elli1]

Add me to the ping list, too!

Thanx!!

[bgill]

Please, add me as well.

[TSgt]

Red,

I enjoyed your garden pictures on your profile.

You inspire me to keep trying!

Thank you for your service,

Mike W USAF

[Eagle50AE]

Thanks for the tomato seed link.. and the thread.

slow growing here in the damp WNC mtns, last year we could not buy a rain shower.. last 2 days 1/4 and 1 1/2 inches..
but thankful for what we have..

[cripplecreek]

I've got another flower identification question. The elderly couple who owned the place before me left me with lots of unidentified flowering objects.

[TSgt]

Question: Is anyone else's corn stunted? My stalks are short and now the tassels are coming out. What are the chances of getting corn off a half-sized stalk and what am I doing wrong?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yesterday was a productive day in the garden! My son came over and dug holes for me and we added a Brandywine Flowering Crabapple. Fitting, since our farm is 'Brandywine Farm' after the tomato, though my son teases that it's because Dad likes 'Brandy' and Mom likes 'Wine,' LOL! Where DOES he get that sense of humor? LOL!

Then we added three hydrangea; Two 'Limelight' and one 'Incrediball' which is the new cultivar of 'Annabelle' on stronger stems with even MORE 'poof' to the blossom.

'Limelight' & 'Incrediball'

[Diana in Wisconsin]

And THEN...I had my first experience cherry picking! What a lot of work! One of my mature sour/pie cherries really bore well this season, so I spent an hour picking, then another hour pitting.

I had enough for two cherry pies...and I'm having a slice for breakfast this morning as I type. Heaven! :)

[Gabz]

Morning, Red. I see you’re up and at’em bright and early this morning.

[DCBryan1]

bean ping

[BigBlueJon]

I have started reading through the gardening threads for help and advice. I am an amateur gardener with just tomatoes and chili peppers. Some of my tomatoes plants have had, what I’ve found on the internet, blossom end rot. I read that it could be caused from water issues or not having enough calcium in the soil. I water them regularly and the other day I took Calcium pills and dissolved them in water. I poured a little of the mixture onto each plant.

Am I doing the right thing here? Any advice? Thanks.

And PS....I’m having some issues with my pepper plants as well...any tips?

[JRochelle]

I picked my first cucumber this week!

It was so good.

[Betis70]

I am growing pole beans for the first time (Romano beans). It has been a late season here, and my tomatoes and peppers are starting to show some blossoms, but these beans just seem to keep growing and growing with no blossom in sight. Is this normal for pole beans?

Maybe I just need to be patient, but geez this summer is going to be a seriously late harvest for all my veggies. Should have planted some lettuce, I’d probably be swimming in it right now.

[chickpundit]

I have saved tomato seeds in the method you’ve described, and it works well. Another method I’ve tried is covering the seeds in an equal amount of Comet and stir. Let them sit for 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly in strainer. Return seeds to water, and discard the seeds that float to the top. Strain, and let dry on waxed paper. This method is supposed to dissolve the gel and disinfect. Of course, I try hard not to use harsh chemicals on my tomato plants, so I don’t know if this is counter-productive. I kind of like the idea of the Comet disinfecting any plant diseases though.

I did this with a couple varieties last year. I think I did a germination test to make sure it didn’t kill the seeds, but I will do another one with my first batch to make sure, and report my results. I have had a few ripe Tiger Tom tomatoes and Chadwick Cherry, along with one huge White Snowball tomato!

[NoPrisoners]

So the tomato seeds have to ferment? Who would have known this without FR??? :)

Please add me to your ping list.

[Lorianne]

Please add me to the ping list. Thanks!

[Arrowhead1952]

I noticed you were on the TX message board talking about gardening. You may check here as well.

[madamemayhem]

HI RED!! my cucumbers are still going great. sold 12 of them for $7. still have plenty more. strange thing though, some of the vines are looking funky, all brown around the edges and crispy, no idea what that is about. my tomatos have me worried. lots of green maters but none of them are turning color. they have been there for weeks and some look like they have a bit of dark brown on them. it does not look good. my green beans are doing great and the cabage looks yummy. i’m hearing thunder in the distance and so i need to head out a grab some beans for supper. i will definately check back later.

[chris_bdba]

Thanks for the info I have a ton of heirloom tomato plants that are currently growing like crazy here in SE Ohio. I do want to harvest both varities seeds.