Harvest This is what I got from my garden today...

[energy_wave]

Better Boy and Big Boy are both hybrids. The seeds you save will give you tomatoes but not exactly like what you bought. You have to seed save from heirloom varieties to get the same exact tomato you saved the seeds from.

Edited to add: Maybe it was an heirloom variety instead of one of those and you will get the same tomato.

The Amish in my area are notorious for saving seeds. They seem to grow the same stuff year after year, so I'm hoping for the same tomato's. I plan on 20 plants growing 5 to 8 feet high producing 10lbs to 30lbs per plant.

 

[Wildwood]

The Amish in my area are notorious for saving seeds. They seem to grow the same stuff year after year, so I'm hoping for the same tomato's. I plan on 20 plants growing 5 to 8 feet high producing 10lbs to 30lbs per plant.

You should be good then. I'd do a couple extra plants in case something happens to one. After this last spring. I'm a little cautious lol. Out of 96 plants, less than a third made it. I had already started more but kept babying the originals and saved a few. It was bad potting soil and I complained on here a lot.

 

[h_oder]

My (very small) garden was pretty much a bust this year, but the few herbs I planted did well. I came back from out of town yesterday. Decided it was time to finish up for the year. I have lots of basil & thyme drying downstairs, and made pesto for the first time (it's freezing in ice cube trays) - YUM! Love the recipe I found. Next year, I will make sure to harvest my basil more often and make more pesto.

My dill had already dropped seeds, so couldn't save any of it. I'll probably be picking dill out of the front yard next year...

 

[Voortrekker]

One word for all of you garden harvesters, "Canning."

 

[dioptase]

DH got behind on harvesting the tomatoes - lots of cherry tomatoes had already dropped. He came in with a bowl today, enough (with earlier harvested tomatoes) to make another round of gazpacho, which is how we use our tomatoes, those we don't eat fresh (alone or in salads). He told me to remind him to go back out tomorrow, so there will be another batch of gazpacho incoming. (Gazpacho doesn't last long here, so no canning needed, not that we have any experience at such. I do have to wonder how it would hold up if frozen.)

I picked just a few tomatoes yesterday, for seed saving (hopefully they did not cross with other tomatoes), and some garlic chives seed heads.

 

[Wildwood]

DH got behind on harvesting the tomatoes - lots of cherry tomatoes had already dropped. He came in with a bowl today, enough (with earlier harvested tomatoes) to make another round of gazpacho, which is how we use our tomatoes, those we don't eat fresh (alone or in salads). He told me to remind him to go back out tomorrow, so there will be another batch of gazpacho incoming. (Gazpacho doesn't last long here, so no canning needed, not that we have any experience at such. I do have to wonder how it would hold up if frozen.)

I picked just a few tomatoes yesterday, for seed saving (hopefully they did not cross with other tomatoes), and some garlic chives seed heads.

I've saved heirloom tomato seeds from my garden with lots of varieties growing in close quarters and they stayed true. My best performing Cherokee Purples this year was from seeds saved from plants mixed in with others. In fact, in the high temps we had, they were about the only CP's that did anything.

I've been doing an experiment with CP and Trip-L-Crop seeds from three different sources for the last two years to decide which ones I like best and that's why I was paying such close attention to the source of the seeds. My plan was to seed save from the ones that did best in my climate. There are subtle differences but this year was so bad that not much stuck out except those mystery seeds saved on a whim. They must have came from an exceptionally nice tomato last year for me to even consider keeping them.

Any seeds are better than none at all.

 

[dioptase]

I have a ton of seeds, including those for several different tomato cultivars, mostly purchased. It's just that I can't find commercial seeds anywhere for these two tomatoes: 'Jutland', the one that we liked the best out of this year's cultivars, and a dehybridized 'Campari' tomato (that's the one that is more or less a cherry tomato, although it is described as growing to 2" fruits).

(For inquiring minds, I got those two plants from Laurel's Heirloom Tomatoes See available varieties . I can re-purchase those two tomatoes again next year (provided she doesn't run out and substitute), but since the seed, if true, is free, then there's no sense in not saving it.)

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We had volunteer tomato plants come up at the end of our drain line from the washing machine and sink this year. I have no idea how the seed got there, or what kind of tomatoes they are. They have produced better than any other tomatoes we tried to grow this year and are still producing. They are very meaty without the large core and taste wonderful. I'm saving seed from them to plant next year. I wish I knew what type they are.