Transport yourself back to the beginning of summer. You planted a few tomato plants in the hopes you'd have a summer full of tomato sandwiches, tomato pies, and simple lunches of juicy tomato slices with a simple dressing of olive oil, salt, and cracked pepper. A few months later, and one of your tomato plants is going above and beyond. It's delivering a bounty of rich, flavorful tomatoes, and you're wondering how you can recreate this harvest next summer.
The best way to do that is to start your own heirloom tomato operation at home. Yes, that means saving the seeds from your tomato plant and sowing them again next year. It's not something that's commonly done, but it is possible when you have heirloom and open-pollinated tomato varieties growing in your garden.
Here's how you can save tomato seeds and grow them again next year in your own garden.
The 12 Best Tomato Companion Plants For Your Best Crop Ever
Larson Weinstein is the Head Farmer at Atlas Farms.
Brock Hughey is the Director of Farm & Landscape at Southall Farm & Inn.
Why Should You Save Tomato Seeds?
There are two obvious advantages to saving tomato seeds. The first is that you won't have to buy tomato seeds again next year. Tomato seed packets may not be expensive, but why buy them if you don't have to? Second, you have a good shot at recreating a variety of tomato that you already know you enjoy, and you know it does well in your local growing conditions.
Choosing The Right Tomatoes For Seeds
The first step in saving tomato seeds is understanding that not every tomato is going to have seeds that are worth saving. It has to be an heirloom or open-pollinated variety and, on top of those two factors, it also needs to be fully mature and disease-free.
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