How We Save Thousands of Tomato Seeds in Just SECONDS

Seed saving is something everyone should be doing. We have been saving seeds from our garden for quite some time and trust me when I say it can be a very time consuming task. That is why we began using this method of dead standing seed selection to save tomato seeds. It truly is one of the best methods and it is so simple that it only takes seconds!
MIgardener seed shop: www.migardener.com Check out our new clothing line! http:www.freshpickedapparel.com

[@MIgardener]

See how the rest of the tomato seed saving process happens here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJrddKSbapueeac

[@drurymassey]

MIgardener thank you so much Luke!

[@kellyc2425]

Luke, you ROCK! 🎼🎶🎸🎸🎸

[@gxdjoeybaby07]

I was going to ask for a video about the rest of the process, it's like you read my mind LOL

[@Bright_iiii_s]

@@gxdjoeybaby07 I was about to post about the same thing

[@SuperLovetolisten]

MIgardener .... just bought and received some goodies from your seed shop and wanted to say thank you for your wonderful channel and store! We are very very pleased with our purchase! Your store offers such a wide variety at incredible prices. It was worth the wait until things came into stock again in November. Now, I can’t wait until spring ! Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🍁🍽!

[@luigimini2124]

MIgardener: Sells seeds Also MIgardener: Shows us how to store our own seeds

[@SlayerJesse]

This is why he is worth supporting :D

[@Jack8888.]

😭😍

[@jennakenna7252]

It's common sense really, you've never saved seeds?

[@valeriesanchez3074]

Sometimes I find his seeds out of stock.

[@pamt8430]

Can't wait to start the seeds I ordered. Planning on stocking up. Have my eye on a few..just waiting for the email. Thanks for all your info Luke. You help my garden a lot.

[@suziehartwright]

Thanks!

[@joshkornblum6374]

Love the Stache brother! Keep up the good work.

[@dottievina7566]

That was amazing !! Thanks luke

[@jimsgardenproject3507]

Why not shake them on a tarp like olive collection then pour into the bucket.

[@newzealander6232]

You showed how to take tomatoes from the plant, but what to do after this please? I wanted how to save the seeds as a video but this didn't do this at all.

[@kploughman1476]

I always thought that you collect seeds from the best tomatoes (no cracks or blemishes) to eventually have the best tomato. Also I have to only use short season tomatoes due to my zone. So I was always taught to save the seeds from the first fruits to ensure early fruiting. Is that true? If so then would this method your doing not affect these traits? I'm just curious as I'm always looking for easier ways and better ways to garden. Thank you

[@livb2401]

It's about the plant :) as long as you save seed from a healthy plant it doesn't matter what the individual fruit are like, for tomatoes at least.

[@MsRESPECT90]

If you just left the plant wouldn't the remaining fruit be voluteets for next year? I know the point was seed saving just wondering if the seeds can survive the winter.

[@lulabelle4760]

Yes they will survive the winter and start growing come spring. Just let some tomatoes fall onto the ground throughout the season. I dig the plants up when they are 5-8 inches tall and replant them where I want tomatoes growing and set out extras by the curb for free.

[@crawfislk]

You can't save hybrid tomatoes seeds. Well you can but you will not get hybrids. You get one of the heirloom parents.

[@demetriuspowell29]

No you'll get a unstable mudblood

[@jewelgaither1504]

Don't your tomatoes cross pollinate?

[@evilgenius97]

Being outdoor there is no way to stop it

[@deborahhanna6640]

Tomatoes pollinate themselves if you do the tickle method & get them to pollinate themselves first. (I think MI Gardener was the one who did the video on it.) Basically, you just look for the flower clusters every few days & 'jiggle' them. Very lightly! But look up the video he also throws out a few other tips about staking & pruning.

[@demetriuspowell29]

Yes they do his seed isn't pure because he doesn't isolate his plants properly

[@demetriuspowell29]

@@evilgenius97 yes it is a way lol I'm a seed saver all my seeds are pure

[@demetriuspowell29]

@@evilgenius97 use wedding favor bags they're dirt cheap on Amazon

[@darcybrowne5421]

This should be labelled how to put tomatoes in a bucket 🙄 I always liked your channel but this just wasted my time we all know how to pick tomatoes off a plant

[@bettys7726]

PS Not that I'll ever stop buying seed from you. The germination rate on every packet you've sent is outstanding. The price is excellent. It's a no brainer... you are the best!

[@valtoton2982]

I agree 100% I love all of my MIGARDENER seeds!!! The germination is excellent!

[@manxkin]

I always have "mystery" tomatoes that pop up from seed. I have no idea what they are going to turn into until they mature. Lots of fun.

[@GretaBeth]

I just dump the entire plant in the “magic compost bin” and tomato plants crop up all over my yard from the compost 😆same with butternut squash.

[@FringeWizard2]

I have random squashes growing in the forest in my compost bin every year that even produce a few squash to eat despite it being so shady.

[@wendyc.5769]

Can you interview some of your farmers about their how tos? Pleasssssse

[@ogadlogadl490]

That would be interesting for him to interview old timers! Also would be a preservative technique. 💚

[@willdwyer6782]

I learned how to separate seeds from plant material years ago when I was smoking cheap weed. 🤣

[@gendeb9666]

😂😂😂

[@reneeodayok859]

😂 🏆

[@drurymassey]

Thank you for sharing I'm wondering, how do you ferment the pulp. I would like to see or be explained to what that process is.

[@MIgardener]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJrddKSbapueeac

[@Junzar56]

Fun stuff! I am saving seeds from my microdwarf tomatoes...I love growing them during the winter!

[@fromfranceswithlove8084]

I’m going to buy seeds from you and use this method to save some, because you’re awesome and I want to support you yet still use your methods. Thanks for always caring more about people than your pocket, you rock!

[@DelawareAcre]

I’m so thankful you keep seeds cheap for us! Bought several from you already!!

[@Groupie333]

Why does it take 12 minutes to show an "IN SECONDS" process???

[@levonvardanyan3478]

What process? He didn’t show anything like how to separate the seeds from the pulp and process them so they can be dried and stored.

[@dwaynewashington1234]

Luke I just wanted to say THANK YOU brother, to you and your team. I can go on for hours about how much your channel has been so informative.

[@adamgonzales9641]

Luke long time supporter of the channel and seed store but beings that its a open pollinated plant and your plants are on top of eachother what is the chance that these are crosses and your not selling the actual hierloom you are suggesting? Im very interested in a follow up video on this or a response on this. I know that its a problem with peppers not being true to variety year after year. Also i know you didnt put the 87 year tomato in the garden cause you didnt want a cross if i recall and you did the buckets near the house and porch for that one. whats the differents here? Thanks and hope to hear or see your answer Adam

[@alexandeurross4169]

Heirlooms are stable varieties. Unlike hybrids, which are susceptible to cross pollination randomness, heirlooms are true to form even open polinated. The other thing to note is that these are tomatoes. Tomatoes don't polinate like most plants. The pollen is "inside" the flower and polinated from the vibration of the flower when a bee lands on it, rather than pollen going flower to flower. This further makes it unlikely to cross polinate.

[@MIgardener]

A cross can happen but with tomatoes and their closed flower they do not cross pollinate very easily. Approximately 1 out of every 100 tomatoes crosses meaning you will have 99 tomatoes with no cross pollination and 1 tomato that has a cross, and from that only 50% of those seeds will contain the cross. This is why tomatoes are so stable.

[@demetriuspowell29]

Other people in the past has complained about the seeds not being pure he doesn't isolate his plants properly

[@demetriuspowell29]

The difference is he doesn't care because he thinks his subscribers are idiots hence why he sales seed saved from un isolated plants

[@gigivohsen7682]

Your arms are too short to box with god-! Powell wow, why follow his videos so closely just to troll Luke? Seems like such a waste of your time. There are many other channels to check out if this isn’t your cup of tea. Like other garden KZbinrs, he has encouraged many to just get in there and try to garden, there are as many ways to garden as there are to make a sandwich. They all feed the body and soul. It’s not all black and white. I follow because I’m a fan of his energy, intelligence and respect for the Earth. His is just one opinion. One that I often agree with and more often learn something from. Change the channel if you don’t agree, but there’s no cause to disparage him, his practices, and those who are interested in what he has to say. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Stay positive.

[@a-a-ron8201]

Instead of doing this over a bucket... do it over a tarp.

[@Morbidwolf2011]

Aweee I really wanted to see the process with the water and filtering

[@natureboy6410]

Use a tarp. That way, you can do the hole plant at once.

[@evilgenius97]

Tarp and 3 buckets for over kill

[@cuterpooter]

Haha, I was thinking that too!

[@jackiehorsley9263]

very cool I look forward to purchasing the seed you harvested

[@PegsGarden]

Great video, I just received my luffa seeds and my sunflower seed from your seed shop, they came in a few days and reasonably priced.

[@jennifersteeves5482]

I have champagne bubbles , sungold, blueberries, dancing with smurfs, yellow pear and sweet 100 I will do this same method to those after those plants die! Do you have a video on harvesting seeds from numerous plants at one time? “ how to organize seed drying from 25 different tomato plants at once “? Since I’m growing over 75 different tomato varieties on my urban property in containers, I intend to share and sell my rare heirloom seeds

[@heidiquayle5054]

thanks for this big tip! We had a cold snap that made some of my plants just freeze with tomatoes on the vine. I didn't think they'd be any good to use. I thought you have to just pick the best and brightest and throw out the rest that spoiled/froze/didn't grow symmetrically etc. This will help me share my seeds with family!

[@tarawhite2329]

Please make some SHORT 3 minute videos packed with the main info! Please please please. Your info is great but too long

[@hollynelson543]

Question Do the birds go for the fruits drying on the plants?

[@honeybee2356]

Good question

[@jeaniepartridge6701]

Will I not get germination if I harvested seed before the tomatoes were over ripe? The squirrels had eaten some of my perfectly ripe tomatoes I was saving for my grandchildren to pick later that day so I saved the seed was that wrong?

[@anatrellafamily]

What about cross pollination? You don’t keep them apart yon keep the variety intact or the like?

[@jonglascow4939]

HUH, there was literally NO video showing the actual seed separation! Bad video

[@stephendavidrathburn8952]

Since you are saving seeds from several different types that are in one small location, doesn't cross polination render the variety unreliable?

[@levonvardanyan3478]

Really? That’s all your going to tell people? How about the process of separating the sead from the pulp and drying the seeds for storage? Smh

[@vineyardchickshomestead]

Interesting! Do you think we could use the seeds in the tomatoes we jarred? How about in our Italian peppers that are jarred in vinegar? Do you think the seeds would still be viable like your fermented seeds tomatoes?

[@demetriuspowell29]

No

[@alrachid2]

Wow, after 3 years of researching, studying, and practicing gardening I can safely say I have never seen something quite like this. Awesome, and makes so much sense when you think about it.

[@grahamb5769]

Great video! Love seed saving stuff from you, great method. Do you grow fresh kitchen herbs indoors through the winter?

[@crwalter2003]

I know it's been two years since recording this video, however, I just watched it. Have you considered laying an empty plastic trash bag one the ground before you collect your seeds? I would simplify recovering those fruits that miss the bucket, without them falling into the mulch, etc., below the plant. Loved the vid, btw.

[@ginaeaton6680]

90% of my garden is from MIgardener. Germination rate is excellent!!

[@Earthy-Artist]

I'm going to put a tarp of something underneath the bucket so I can catch the tomatoes which don't make it into the bucket so I don't loose them if I try this seed saving method.

[@mluehs12891]

100% germination rate on your seeds sprout 35 different varieties thank you!

[@johnsheppard4428]

By the time frost kills my plants and they begin drying, there is two feet of snow on the ground...

[@Irishtomq]

Do you know of a way to get all the "escapee" seeds out of my soil so I don't get hundreds of volunteers?

[@SouthernLatitudesFL]

Sometimes our local Home Depot will sell big tubs (half barrel size) for $5 and it would make your seed saving easier. They are handy for many garden jobs.

[@Well_I_am_just_saying]

Don't you have to keep varieties far apart from each other to prevent cross pollination?

[@Slotcartires]

You do not address cross pollination. Can it happen? How to prevent it?

[@jodivanmeter6345]

you need a bigger bucket. lol ! thank you for sharing this!

[@seedaholicgardens9085]

Third so not bad for me!Hi guys! Brillianttrick to sve the seeds,ty! much less labor intensive!TFS-Hope

[@marioamayaflamenco]

Over three minutes. Still waiting for you to tell us how.

[@His-words]

I wish u could show me after u collected the dry tomatoes. I’m a very beginner.

[@zaviahopethomas-woundedsou9848]

It is a pleasure to see how your seed store/business is growing! It is a blessing to see how you are growing as an individual in the process!

[@ThatGardener]

Great video. I have done same process in my video with seeds saving tips for peppers, tomato and other vegetables. Thanks for tips and teaching as always!!

[@RoisinMcAuliffe]

I had to click on this video to see your mustache. I love it!

[@kevinmanning4880]

Great video, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[@Gokywildcats11]

I would like to have some free seeds if any one would like to away

[@stewpendousgrowth4]

Won't those tomato seeds now be hybrids though? Our 2nd year of gardening, we had volunteer plants under where our golden nuggets were, as well as, our sweet baby girl. When the plants matured, they seemed to have been mixed with each other. Flavor was lost on one, and the skin was real thick on another. We learned about the self pollination method of flicking the flowers to simulate bees wings. You then have to put a mesh zip bag over the flower to protect the integrity of the heirloom variety. Otherwise, a bee could be coming from another tomato plant carrying its pollen. Side note, now you just learned how to breed tomatoes, and peppers for that matter, with a paint brush or some other method.

[@stewpendousgrowth4]

With that being said, this is a Stewpendous video and method of saving seeds. We appreciate MIgardener's work, even if we're Ohio State fans. I really like the look and the success of the high intensity lettuces. We're giving it a try and have sprouting now. Thank you!

[@bob.hudson]

thank you luke

[@carriecraiger3929]

I had a sweet 100 volunteer this year, it grew massive as I just let it be and didn’t fuss over it. I just now pulled it from the ground and left all the tomato’s that fell off onto the ground alone. I should go and save some of the seeds, but wanted to see what happens also.

[@odenttraipser5833]

There's a caterpillar under your nose!

[@xeows5740]

First

[@ZE308AC]

great information worth it weight in gold

[@anasazirose]

This video does not show how to save seeds. Not at all.

[@J3rs3yM1k3]

This is how to *harvest* seeds, not how to save them.

[@bribri3069]

How do you keep your tomatoes from cross pollinating ?

[@demetriuspowell29]

He doesn't

[@demetriuspowell29]

You can use wedding favor bags to prevent cross pollination tho

[@demetriuspowell29]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnTcnoKQo9Oso5o

[@ruthspillman546]

Great way and speedy!!! Tks

[@incaputinsigata]

You ar taaaaaalking too muuuuch..

[@DontLeaveMeLucile]

Your tomatoes are SO TINY

[@RavensOfAstaru]

Funny thing I've always waited till autumn to save any tomato and other fruit seeds. Love you all!

[@genal5808]

Very interesting! Thank you for sharing.

[@rentboston2148]

so they are open pollinated?

[@lorben6735]

Do tomatoes cross pollinate? If they do how do you keep them true to their variety?

[@alcrz3943]

Lor Ben tomatoes really easily self pollinate so it's rare for them to cross unless they are planted too closely together. if you want to prevent that i do believe that migardener has a video on tomato pollination :)

[@demetriuspowell29]

Cover the blooms with wedding favor bags that'll prevent cross pollination

[@C3Voyage]

Normally there's not a lot of crossing, but it certainly happens regularly if the stigma is exserted which happens in warmer/hotter periods. I wouldn't save seed this way myself as a breeder especially, but as a gardener, to ensure your OPs are true, bag and hand pollinate the best plants you have. Also, a diseased plant can pass it onto the seed and you want the healthiest, most robust examples to save seed from and carry forward ideally sanitizing the seed as well. Cornell University shares some options you can adopt along with other universities.

[@debsoz1]

So what do u do next?

[@Adnancorner]

do they cross pollinate ? the are two different varieties ?

[@demetriuspowell29]

Yes they will cross pollinate use wedding favor bags to prevent it from happening thank me later

[@barbkafilmout9449]

Very interesting

[@rustic35]

You never showed what to do after you've collected them. 🤷‍♂️ You took 12 minutes to show how to collect tomatoes. 🤣

[@Sea2Green]

Interesting thank you Luke. Tomato season is upon zone10a!!

[@Babybugex]

We just bought a load of seeds from your store. I live in north Midland co so will let you know what I think. Been gardening in this county from 1986.

[@NigelDowney-sh5yd]

It would also be nice to see the next steps of the process if you can

[@MIgardener]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJrddKSbapueeac

[@NigelDowney-sh5yd]

MIgardener Thank you!

[@bowleggedbear]

Like the moustache man!

[@jennifersteeves5482]

Hi Luke, Jenn Steeves from Hamilton Ontario Canada. I am pretty much doing what you’re doing and I noticed that as you’re talking about the two different varieties of tomato plants that you’re about to harvest from your garden, they are grown in very close proximity from each other. My question to you is: If you planted both of those tomato plants very close to each other and you’re harvesting the seeds to both of those plants, would your seeds not produce some sort of hybrid after that From cross pollination? At my house I am growing roughly 90 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes this year and there’s about a dozen micro dwarf tomato plants, and the rest are larger plants. I have purchased a bunch of tiny mesh organza bags. And I have bagged a bunch of my flowers on my stems before they open up so I can harvest the seeds only from those stems… Can those tomatoes you are green cross pollinate the first year?

[@melodieobryan916]

Great method to collect. What's the next step with quantity you have in your bucket? (I watched the video for Ananas Noir in blue solo cup with one tomato). Do you just add water to your bucket and squish the currant tomatoes with hands and rinse and repeat?

[@loestum6010]

wish I had found your store eirlyier ...bought a lot of seeds @ 3-3.5 for the same amount. I will be shopping your store next winter... only problem I found is a lot of what I wanted to try were out of stock. maybe it will help to shop eerily er..anyway thanks for the videos and great prices on the seeds :)

[@ryanarmishaw3305]

A small tarp under the plant would allow you an even quicker harvest. You would lose much less fruit. :)

[@boojangles]

@MIgardener What if it rarely freezes? I guess we keep planting so we have some on the vine in Nov? (Our supposed frost date) It seems like it's often warm enough for backyard swimming at Thanksgiving. 😄

[@donaldp9259]

1 question. How can you assure that the seeds you harvest are not cross-pollinated with other varieties?

[@TinyHouseChile]

Good technique! Thx 4 sharing!

[@rachelhale2200]

I've seen your tomato seed saving video but where there is a disconnect for me is here. Are you then taking them out of the bucket opening them up to get the seeds out and ferment in water, (how does that work if they're dry)? Or, are you adding water to the dry tomatoes undisturbed and fermenting breaks down the skin?

[@Adnancorner]

have you thought of getting a large old bed sheet and shake this on the cloth ?? i think it would be easier

[@bonsaidanceflow]

Thank you so much for letting me know more about your seed company, that's so awesome!

[@CustomGardenSolutions]

Luke how long does it take for your tomatoes to ferment.

[@zw2237]

Such an awesome personality and disposition... and great teaching style... you are amazing.

[@dianeallred9288]

An idea would be to put a tarp under your plant to catch a few more tomatoes that normally would be lost on the ground

[@David-fv7zg]

Those two plants are very close together, how do you prevent cross pollination?

[@jeffdinter6208]

How do you know if they have crossed pollinated?

[@barryrodgers2067]

Do you have a seed catalog,you are a fantastic explainer of how to grow veggies