Saving Tomato Seeds: How to Prepare and Store Seeds from Your Tomato Plants

Tomatoes come in a wonderful array of different types each with their
own unique shape, size and taste.

Growing heritage or heirloom tomatoes helps preserve this fantastic diversity of fruit for future generations.

In this short video we explain which kinds of tomatoes you can harvest seeds from and demonstrate how to prepare, dry and store your seeds to give them the best chance of germinating when planted.

If you love growing your own food, why not take a look at our online Garden Planner which is available from several major websites and seed suppliers:
and many more...

[gardenerofthegalaxy]

My grandma is still growing tomatoes with seeds she bought over twenty years ago.

[elizabethclackum]

The simplest way I've found is to squeeze your seeds directly from a tomato into the strainer like the one shown in the video, and then just wash them with your sink sprayer until the seeds separate from the gel. (I tried the soaking method once many years ago, and ended up with sprouted tomato seeds.. not the best.)
let them dry on a china/glass plate so they're easier to collect, as drying them on a paper towel means you have to pick them off of it. After they've dried on the plate for a day, they can be stored away.
I've had tomato seeds stay viable for several years that way, I think my oldest ones are from 2014 and I grew some of those this year :)

[snakeguy]

I saved some seeds and went through all the whole process and had some success. The cherry tomatoes that fell off the plant last year overwintered and this spring I had tomatoes growing all over my garden. Seems like Mother Nature is better at saving seeds that me.

[brendawallace]

I just squeeze them out of the tomato, and onto a paper towel. then leave to dry sandwiched between two paper towels. In spring i plant the paper towel directly into seed raising mix with lots of water. The strongest plants get planted out into the garden.

[denisebrady]

I have watched this so many times as I need to refresh my memory each season.I am currently growing tomato seeds from 4 years ago with success Cheers Denise- Australia

[TheAbledGardener]

Thanks for the great tomato saving tips, it was very informative. I also have found that putting a few grains of rice in the bag with the seeds will absorb any moisture they may still have in them. Just a thought ;-)  Take care, Kim

[empresskats]

Thank you, I return to this every year before I do sungold seeds from my garden. Great info and technique 😊

[caliliah]

When I tried fermenting them, all of my seeds sprouted so I’ve just started picking out the seeds and letting them dry on a plate for about a week and then storing them, worked great this year!

[rogerpalmer]

Thanks for the refresher! It's seed time in my neck of the world...peace be with you.

[Darkfalz]

Not the cleanest way, but I just smeared some on a paper towel last year and let them dry. They are now growing and awaiting last frost date. Look very healthy.

[Ambular]

I've successfully grown my first tomatoes this year and am very excited to try again next year as well. Thank you for this video!

[d.pellerin]

I really appreciated the step-by-step process to acquire and store seeds. It worked great. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

[samieramohamed]

Thanks very direct focused clear no time wasted on self and ego.Excellent

[TheSongwritingCat]

Interesting to learn that the gel inhibits germination. I squeezed out seeds from overripe tomatoes directly into the dirt on a lark and I was overwhelmed by how many sprouted.

[cobgrowlights]

We are growing strawberries and tomato plants like crazy in our test labs. Thanks a lot for making this informative video.

[MarinaWilson]

Thank you for this lesson on how to do this. I have a good BIG tomato heirloom and I'd like bigger next year so I'm going to save he seeds.

[nicfarrow]

Excellent information - simply presented!
Unfortunately for me, living in Japan means that the average supplier doesn’t even know what kind of tomato they are selling, but I am going to give this a try.

[free_soul_on]

Short, smart and to the point video. Weldone. 👍👌

[pauloag]

Spot on! I was just needing this video. Cheers!

[horsefamily]

I received a mystery tomato from a gardener in the area. He just told me i would like it. He's right, i LOVE it. It's the sweetest tomato I've ever eaten. I mucked up my garden this year so it's likely the only one that plant will produce, so i made sure to save every single seed from it. I want as many of these as possible next year. It's like candy, it's so good