El, thanks for the tutorial on saving tomato seeds. You have just about convinced me to try San Marzano after I’d convinced myself I needn’t try. Our Romas are prolific, but this year the plants aren’t nearly the winners they were last year. Perhaps because I changed the seed source?

So, how to save tomato seeds? Slice a tomato in half and squeeze/scoop out the seeds into a glass bowl or quart-sized canning jar. Add water to near the top of the container, stir, and wait. The “bad” seeds and some of the pulp will float to the top; the “good” (viable) seeds sink to the bottom. Stir it once a day, and in about 3 days a nice green sludge of mold will appear on the top. This is a good thing, incidentally; you want the sludge as it breaks down that gelatinous case around each seed. Dump this outside into a fine-sieve strainer and blast with a hose, turning things over with your hands to get rid of most of the bad stuff. Spread out and dry on a paper towel. I label the towel and once it’s dry, I roll it up and store the seeds that way until next season. They usually stick to the paper towel so I just tear the seed with a bit of towel stuck to it and plant it that way.

I have no idea why I can grow Green Zebras; they’re not terribly productive but they’re one of the best raw tomatoes out there imho…so, I fuss over them!

Tomato confit:
http://www.laughingduckgardens.com/ldblog.php/2008/08/13/savory-oven-tomato-preserve/
Recommended keeping time in fridge is only a few weeks, but using no-shoulder mason jar, I store them in the freezer, and that works beautifully: the texture is preserved, since the tomatoes has been partially dried. For that, I prefer San Marzano selection El Redorto (www.GrowItalian.com) hands on.
A recipe – always a winner at Pot-luck (hosts ask in the summer if I wouldn’t mind bringing it…) is here: http://www.laughingduckgardens.com/ldblog.php/2008/08/31/tomato-tatin/

El, I wonder how you deal with a “fussy” tomato. I gave up on Green Zebra because it just didn’t grow. It withered away. I figured it wasn’t built for our D.C. climate. I’m happy to save some Cherokee Purple seeds, but first I need to learn how to save tomato seeds. We certainly have no shortage of them. In fact, tomato parts are one thing I do not compost because the plants would be everywhere in the garden.

Keri, Japanese Black and Russian Krim? You have my attention. Would love to know how those turn out. El is our resident seed-saving expert. Maybe she’ll share some thoughts on “fermenting” tomato seeds.

De, I like the sound of Southern Nights. Have you noticed our nights lately have been less southern and more like New England lately? Love this kinder, gentler version of summer in D.C. I have yet to grow a determinate variety tomato. I wonder if I would miss the sight of the plant trying to climb out of its cage.

Sylvie, 15 varieties? Which is your favorite? I came very close to growing San Marzanos but was discouraged by a comment I read somewhere that the Romas were better. We grow Romas and can enough of them to last the winter. I had not considered confit. Perhaps you’ve posted about it?

Janet, there is a very strong temptation to plant too many tomatoes in the garden. This is one of the moral dilemmas that the gardener wrestles with each season.

I am growing about 15: early ones, small ones, tiny ones, big ones, pink, red, dark (Cherokee purple is on the growing list – 1st year), yellow, bicolor (I grow Hillbilly too – no problems growing them in my corner of Virginia) and several paste type. I highly recommend San Marzano for confit, and cherry-type for drying.

i’m growing japanese black and russian krim (black), brandywines, mr. ugly, zebra stripe, some commercial variety the csa gave me in lieu of vegetables the first week and a mr. stripey.

i have no idea which will do better this year, but it’s only my 2nd year of gardening and they’re all pretty much flourishing. some are much later than others, so i’m hoping to have tomatoes for a better part of the year as opposed to last year where they all sort of came at once.

last year i fermented some of my seeds to sow this year, but i don’t think i did it properly. do you have a tested method?

Me, I am a bit of a nut and grow about 20 varieties.

Tell Wifeypoo Green Zebras are one of my favorites, though my fussiest. This is the one plant I nurse along.

But yeah, I have my favorites. I would say my all-time fave is called Flame/Hillbilly Potato Leaf. It’s big, it’s a riot of colors (gorgeous sliced on a plate) and is terribly tasty. Trouble is, they’re as fussy as Green Zebras.

Good news though: I have red on 8 tomatoes!! They’re my new favorite, a determinate tomato called Bellstar Paste. Determinate, early tomatoes? Sign me up…

But I might have you save me some seed of those Cherokee Purples. I seem to be able to grow big tomatoes pretty easily here.