So you have found tomatoes of amazing taste from the supermarkets or even gotten the ‘celebrity’ tomatoes, the heirloom tomatoes from the traditional farmer’s market, or grown this type of tomatoes from your own garden that you feel you want to keep the seds so that you can grow similar tomatoes for next year. After all, no tomatoes will taste better than those which are grown at home! However, if you want to save the seed, you will have to know the method to do that. Don’t worry as the method is not difficult, in fact, it is fairly easy.
First, get your chosen tomato and then slice it in half. Be sure that you cut right in the middle. Take the seeds with your clean hands or a spoon. Put the seeds in a clean cup or similar container. Add two or three spoonful of water to the continer and then cover it with plastic wrap. Poke the plastic coer with a pen or paring knife to get a small hole with diameter of 1 cm in it. This hole is to serve as air circulation and transpiration. This fresh air will help the foster fermentation.
As tomatoes love warmth, you need to place the container in a warm location such as the area near the sunny windowsill or at the top of the refrigerator. Both are the perfec examples of the warm locations for the tomato seed. Once placed there, you will need to let the nature does its course as then the process of fermentation from the seed and water will start. This process will take about 2 to 3 days and each night you will need to remove the plastic cover to stir the mixture of water and seed before you replace with a new plastic cover. The fermentation process will then help you to seperate the seed from the foo and also help to destroy the possible tomato diseases which can start from this seeds.
Afterwards, take the seeds and rinse them well with water. Tap a few times so that you will remove the loose water as much as possible. Place them on the wax paper and spread in single layers. Let them dry for a few days. They are dry when they can move easily and quickly on the place because they do not stick to each other. When this happens, you will know that the seeds are ready.
