Not sure of any websites but here is what I do to save tom seeds.
Cut tom in half and scoop all of the goo and seeds into jar add about 2 inches of water and cover with zip lock bag and slip on rubber band . Let sit in the sun for 5 to 6 days until good starts to get a little moldy. Then dump goo into a very fine strainer and squirter with hose to clean them off. Then I just turn the strainer over onto a paper plate and give it one good hit and out come the seeds. Don’t forget to mark variety on plate before you put the seeds on.
With pepper seeds, just let them dry out a week. Make sure to label everything else you will forget.I put labeled seed packets with the seeds.
Tomatoes, my method is even easier. Save seeds and gel in a canning jar. You need enough water to be able to form mold. I add a few tablespoons. Depends how many tomatoes I’m using. If a few usually enough water there not to add any, or say from pastes with few seeds and gel, you need to add water. You don’t have to cover, if you do open it to air out every other day. If left open it attracts flies and stinks to high heaven. But you can leave it open too. It does not need to be in the sun. I never put them in the sun. In 3-5 days a solid mold patch forms. Once this happens you can now harvest them. I usually wait a week anyway. fill jar with water, the gunk and mold float and good seeds sink. Let seeds settle to bottom and pour off the gunk and repeat 3 or 4 times till seeds are clean. I’m not putting that mold in my strainer. As Dale said hit strainer on paper plate or paper towel, mark first! Spread seeds out, I just use my fingers, some use a knife, much faster with my fingers.Let dry a couple weeks, you want them bone dry. Seeds stick to paper towel, a plate is easier, but I don’t keep paper plates at my house, only at my cottage.
Exactly how much comes with experience. If the mold doesn’t form, you can add more seeds and gel. You can’t do this too long, so no worries if you need another week. You could harvest them, they make take a day or two longer to sprout. Just let them sit longer so you at least have some digestion of seed coat, even if mold plaque doesn’t form fully.
I skipped them this year. Most are Scotch Bonnets which didn’t form the proper shape. @thepodpiper do you have any scotch bonnets that actually form bonnets?
My mild Scotch Bonnet plant that I started from seed (thnx @thepodpiper) finally started to produce recently. And, I actually picked off a red one yesterday. It is supposed to be mild but had a bit of heat to it.
Part of my Ancho Mulato plant had a branch break off with some still green peppers on it. I tried one as well, and it did not have any real flavor to it. I imagine it’ll need to ripen until it gets dark. What color is a ripe one supposed to be?
Had another Ancient Sweet last night, very tasty, so thumbs up on that variety.
What are the black ones? Don’t you have some Black from Tula’s growing? What about Black Krim, also did you grow any Indian Stripe?
We scoured the tomato patch for the last time last week, the plants are done, and the weeds/briars have taken over. We picked enough to can 7 quarts. Real disappointed in this year’s production, but the deer had a lot to with that. Corn, peppers, beans and cukes did awesome for us this year, tho, so not a bad year at all.
Probably a dark green. I’m a little confused by the name Ancho is dried Poblano peppers and Mulato is a type of poblano that is dried also, it is way darker, almost black when dried and used for mole sauce.
The tomatoes pictured are mostly Tim’s Black Ruffles with Black From Tula, and maybe Black Seaman. I saved seeds for the year. One if you look has green shoulders (at 4 O’clock), forgot what that one was? no Black Krim or Indian Stripe this year. I’m still testing. For taste Black Seaman tasted the best to me,. I’m still testing tomatoes. I probably will test more next year but grow some favorites too. Indian Stripe and Pink Berkeley tie-dye are in my favorites and will be grown next year.
I’m kinda anxious for them to be done to make sauce. I have no room in the freezer! I don’t want to do 2 sessions of sauce making.
Yeah I have had problems, but it’s not alone, only Tim Black Ruffles showed some resistance. I don’t grow hybrids. So I have learned to delay unset of disease by clean up, rotation, keeping leaves dry etc. but by this time they are all mostly dead from infections including Tim’s Black Ruffles.It’s resistant, not immune.
From what I could gather, anchos are dried mature poblano peppers, sometimes smoked while drying. Mulatos are a variant of poblanos (selected for more heat) also dried. Mulatos generally as as hot as a jalapeno or more so. Anchos are generally milder, although I have had some very hot anchos…
I use anchos as part of my chili powder for making chili and other uses. i also use chili peppers red ripe, cumin seeds, and garlic powder. I’m drying some red chili peppers right now. I use most as green chili’s but let a couple go red to collect seed.
I have many ripe peppers and plenty of the second wave tomatoes. I made very tasty sauce from peppers. It is better than tomato sauce, so I’ll grow more peppers for the sauce next year.
