According to my partner, tomatoes from New Jersey are THE BOMB. They are the best every tomatoes every grown anywhere.
Why? It may be the soil! It may be the seeds! It may be both. Well, I’m determined to find out.
This weekend we traveled an hour to get across the bridge and visit our favorite longstanding vegetable stand to pick some up. (It’s August so we’re running out of summer – WHERE did the time go?)
Brought these home and asked my buddy Chat GPT how to propagate new plants from these seeds. This is what it said…
1. Select the Right Tomato
- Choose a fully ripe tomato from a healthy plant (avoid diseased plants).
- Heirloom or open-pollinated varieties will grow true to type. Hybrid seeds may not.
2. Extract the Seeds
- Slice the tomato in half.
- Squeeze or scoop the seeds (with their surrounding gel) into a small glass or jar.
3. Ferment the Seeds
This step removes the gelatinous coating that inhibits germination.
- Add a little water to cover the seeds.
- Leave the jar loosely covered (to let gases escape).
- Let sit at room temperature for 2–4 days. Stir daily.
- A layer of mold often forms on top—that’s normal.
- By the end, good seeds sink; bad seeds and pulp float.
Here goes nothing!
Stay tuned for how this turns out!
