As always, we caught up with old friends, and saw folks who traveled from far and wide. We had visitors from San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Louisiana, El Paso, TX (a 680 mile drive), and the furthest travelers were from California and Oregon!

We are thrilled that more and more folks are bringing tomatoes and other items as well. This year, we saw a marked increase in the number of growers bringing tomatoes. An event like this works best when there are several providers of tomatoes. There was also a nice spread of cheeses, breads, and an ever-evolving pasta salad put together from fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from the event.

View photos of the 2010 SETTFest!

Once you’ve started tomato plants from seed successfully, you will probably never give a second thought to reading a How To website on the subject. Given the right conditions, tomato seedlings practically grow themselves — it really is that easy. After all, tomatoes and their wild brethren have been growing for millions of years without human intervention.

And yet Seed Starting articles tend to be lengthy and full of detail. Why is this?

One of the complications that typically makes these articles so long is the wide variety of soil products, seed starting materials, fertilizers, and lighting options available in different parts of the world. The actual method of starting tomatoes is straightforward, but choosing the most reliable and suitable materials can be tricky.

Each tomato can contain hundreds of seeds, and like all seeds, germinate at their own leisure whenever sunlight, water, and soil conditions are viable. But most of us want to avoid wasting seeds and get the best possible germination out of a packet of 15, 30, or more seeds. So this guide will set out to create the perfect conditions so that 100% of your seeds germinate and produce healthy tomato seedlings.

If you have favorite tomato varieties, then counting on your local nursery to carry them, and to have stock at the time you need them inevitably leads to disappointment. Some of our favorite varieties are relatively new on the scene, aren’t widely known, or aren’t popular, so the only solution is to grow seedlings ourselves. It’s worth learning how to successfully start your own seeds so you can always grow the exact tomato varieties you want.

The Basics

Let’s start with the most straightforward step-by-step instructions possible for growing tomato plants from seed to seedling to planting into your garden. We’ll keep this section as free from unnecessary details as possible and then expand on those areas in separate sections below.

Materials You Will Need:

• Tomato seeds
• Water
• Large mixing bowl
• Large spoon or trowel
• Sterile soil-less Seed Starting mix (an 8 quart bag is $4)
• Seed starting tray or plastic pots
• Liquid fertilizer (i.e. Maxicrop liquid seaweed, Alaska fish emulsion, HastaGro 6-12-6, etc. $6-12)
• 40W 4′ fluorescent light fixture with adjustable chains ($25)
• one 40W 4′ Daylight fluorescent bulb ($6) and one 40W 4′ cool white fluorescent bulb ($3)
• or 2 full spectrum 32W or 40W fluorescent bulbs

1. Make sure your seed starting tray, pots, mixing bowl, and trowel are all clean. If necessary, rinse these items with 10% bleach solution to sterilize them.

2. Pour dry seed starting mix into a large mixing bowl and moisten until just damp. The mix should be damp and clump when squeezed, but yet not be sopping wet.

3. Transfer the moistened starting mix out into into seed starting tray or pots and loosely smooth the surface with the trowel.

4. Drop tomato seeds onto the surface of the soil and then barely cover with soil. The goal here is to plant as shallow as humanly possible. Some people use a toothpick or other tool to push each seed slightly under the surface of the soil. After I drop my seeds on the top of the moist soil, I sprinkle a fine layer of dry seed starting mix over the top and then mist with a clean spray bottle full of water until moist.

5. Place a clear plastic lid or some loosely tented plastic wrap over the surface of the seed starting trays or pots, then set them in a warm (not hot) place with a temperature from 55-75°F. Plastic cover should not be airtight.

6. When seeds begin to germinate, remove plastic cover and move tray/pots under fluorescent lights at a distance of no more than 1-2 inches from the exposed fluorescent bulbs for 16 hours a day.

NOTE: There is no danger of your seedlings being burned if they touch the bulbs.

7. Every day, you should raise the lights or lower pots/trays as needed to maintain a maximum distance of 1-2 inches between the tops of your leaves and the light bulbs.

8. When your seedlings have grown their second set of true leaves, apply liquid fertilizer at half strength mixed in a clean chemical-free spray bottle (ie. 1/2 tsp in a 20 oz spray bottle full of water).

9. If your seedlings are in trays, then you will need to transplant them into 4 inch pots after about 3-4 weeks, or when your seedlings have their third set of true leaves and are approximately 3-5 inches tall. When transplanting, you should retain some extra plants as “backups” in case a frost damages your first planting.

10. Once seedlings are 5-7 weeks old, they should be approximately 8-10″ tall. At this point, it is now 1-2 weeks prior to the scheduled planting time. You should begin “hardening off” your seedlings by gradually exposing them to sunlight, first with full shade, then dappled shade, then a few minutes of sunlight a day, gradually increasing their exposure until on the 7th or 8th day, they are experiencing full sun even in the hottest part of the day (11am-1pm).

11. When weather forecasts are predicting no upcoming nights below 40°F, transplant tomato seedlings outside into your garden as deep as possible, removing any leaves that will be buried. This should take place on a cloudy day, or in the mid-to-late afternoon to allow plants 1 day to acclimate. In case of full sun, a sheet or row cover may be draped over sticks, cages, or other framework to shield the plants from full sun for a few days.

Now, let’s provide more detailed explanations for the Seed Starting Steps provided above:

The Right Soil

When they first germinate, tomato seeds are vulnerable to any bacterial or fungal spores which might be present in your growing medium (soil).

Problem: If shortly after they germinate, your tomato seedlings die, especially with a dark ring just above the soil line, this is damping off and indicates that your soil is somehow contaminated.

Solution: To prevent your seedlings from getting these diseases, seed starting materials should be as sterile as possible.

Seeds should be sown in soil-less seed starting mix which retails for $4~5 for an 8 quart bag which will comfortably fill a 72 cell flat tray or a dozen 4″ pots. You should absolutely not start seeds in potting mix and certainly not garden dirt.

If you have any doubts about your seed starting materials (trays, pots, trowel), sterilize them with a 10% bleach spray and rinse them before use.

If you intend to grow completely organic transplants, then you will need to create your own soil mix from organically-derived peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite. Commercial seed starting mix includes a wetting agent which allows the peat moss to absorb water. If you are creating your own mix, you will need to add 1 tsp of an organic dish soap to 1 gallon of water to encourage the normally hydrophobic peat moss in your mix to accept water.

We recommend pouring your seed starting mix into a large bowl and then pre-moistening it with water until it is just damp, but not sopping wet. Scoop the moist mix into your seed starting trays or pots.

Trays and Pots

Whether you start your tomato seeds in trays (sold in a variety of configurations and sizes) or pots is up to personal preference. You may start your tomato seeds directly in 4″ pots and transplant directly into the garden, or you may start in small cells and “pot up” into 4″ pots as they grow taller.

Ferry-Morse sells good quality seed-starting trays with clear plastic domes. These trays can be cleaned and re-used for many years. To save space, you may plant 2-4 seeds in each cell of a 72 cell seed starting tray. They will need to be separated a few weeks later before the roots intermingle. You can also start directly in 4″ pots and just pick the strongest seedling and cull the rest.

The benefit of starting in a smaller cell and then transplanting or “potting up” into a larger pot is encouraging the initial tap root (which goes straight down to the bottom of the pot) to become a more fibrous root system taking up the whole pot.

We recommend making a map of your seedling tray (including some indication of orientation in case you rotate the tray and forget which end is which!) and labeling the contents. [Downloadable Seedling Maps]

The Trouble with Peat Pots

We have found that the compressed peat of Peat Pots tends to wick water away from tender seedlings, depriving them of water. Also, peat pots do not degrade nearly as quickly as advertising suggests. We have heard stories of frustrated gardeners digging up stunted plants only to find that they never broke free of their peat pot prisons.

Problem: Seedlings in peat pots often do not get enough water causing them to wilt, and do not show healthy growth.

Solution: Use plastic containers instead, and reuse them year-to-year. After 5 years I have discarded less than 1% of my pots.

Problem: Seedlings started in peat pots which have been transplanted into the garden fail to thrive and are stunted.

Solution: If you intend to use peat pots, we recommend cutting off the bottom of the pot before transplanting to allow free root growth.

Pre-soaking Seeds?

An entirely optional step in seed starting is to pre-soak your seeds before sowing them. Pre-soaking seeds can increase germination % and seedling vigor.

Problem: I have tomato seeds which are over 6 years old, or am starting later than I planned. How do I increase the chance and speed of germination?

Solution: Pre-soak seeds in a warm tea & fertilizer mixture for 1-12 hours before sowing.

Add a tea bag to a cup of warm water and steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bag and add a few drops of Maxicrop liquid seaweed. Arrange several small bowls or cups on a table and add your seeds to each cup. Then add enough of the weak tea to each bowl to moisten the seeds. Soak seeds for anywhere from one to 12 hours. Then sow seeds into moist seed starting mix.

If you have fresh seeds (less than 5 years old), or you are starting seeds for too many varieties for this to be practical, than this step can, of course, be skipped.

A Matter of Depth

Tomato and pepper seeds, especially cherry tomato seeds, seem to germinate with a higher rate of success when sown extremely shallow — merely 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch deep.

Problem: Tomato seeds, especially cherry tomato seeds, fail to germinate.

Cause: Seeds have been sown too deep.

Solution: Sow tomato seeds extremely shallow.

If you are concerned that you may plant your seeds too deep, then simply drop the seeds on top of the soil and use a small tool such as a toothpick to move a few strands of the peat moss mix over the seeds. Another solution is to drop seeds on top of the moist soil, sprinkle a small amount of dry soilless seed starting mix on top and then mist the surface with a sterilized water bottle until damp.

Tomato seeds germinate at different rates. Cherry tomatoes can be especially precocious. Pepper seeds meanwhile prefer to germinate about 10 degrees warmer than tomato plants (ideally 85 F degrees). If you are lucky enough to have a seedling heat mat, then you can start both pepper and tomato seeds at the same time. Otherwise, we recommend starting your pepper seeds 2-3 weeks before you start your tomato plants as they will need the additional time to come out of hibernation.

How Much Water?

Once you’ve got your seeds planted, your biggest challenge may be resisting the temptation to overwater. We recommend not watering the soil again until the seedlings are 1-2 inches tall and have used up most of the water in the soil. This is typically 5-7 days after germination. There will be a noticeable lightening of the surface of the soil as it dries out. Also, the seed starting trays and/or pots will lose weight.

Don’t let your seedlings dry out either. If seedlings start to wilt, you should water them immediately.

When adding water to trays, we generally prefer “bottom watering“, or lifting the corner of the tray insert and adding water to the tray underneath. This way, tender young seedlings are not disturbed by the added water.

Some minor growth of green moss on the surface of your seed starting trays is normal, but this may be a symptom that you have been overdoing it on the watering.

Get Your Light On

The human eye has a remarkable ability to allow us to see comfortably from the light of just a few candles, to the full intensity of the sun.

• Bright Sunlight: 110,000 lux
• Shade: 20,000 lux
• Fluorescent light: 500 lux
• Sunrise: 400 lux
• Full moon on a clear night: .25 lux

Brightness is not just a function of the intensity of the light, but also the distance from the light. For this reason, trying to grow seeds on a windowsill or located 6-8 inches from a fluorescent light is not much better than providing no supplemental light at all. Especially with fluorescent lights, light intensity output falls off dramatically over a distance of just a few inches.

We recommend growing your seedlings under a fluorescent light fixture which accommodates two 48″ 32W or 40W bulbs. These typically run $20-30 at Home Depot and Lowe’s. Given a choice, you should buy a light fixture with the widest metal reflector available so as to distribute the light over the entire width of the tray. The $15 lights at Wal-Mart are of poor quality, so we do not recommend them.

Problem: Tomato seedlings are growing “leggy” and thin, or bending towards a window in search of light.

Solution: Place fluorescent lights no more than 1-2 inches from top of seedling leaves for 16 hours per day.

We recommend raising and lowering either your lights or seedling trays/pots such that the top leaves of your seedlings are no more than 1-2 inches from the fluorescent bulbs. Use chains to raise and lower the lights, or use old books, DVD cases, etc. to raise and lower plants. There is no risk of plants being burned as the bulbs are only slightly warm to the touch.

We recommend running these lights on a timer for 16 hours a day, but if you will be away for a weekend, seedlings can be grown under 24 hour light for a few days without ill effects.

If full spectrum fluorescent light bulbs are available in your area, by all means buy them in either 40W or 32W intensities. Otherwise, to provide a full spectrum of color, we use one cool white bulb (approximately $4) and one Daylight warm/natural light bulb (approximately $6).

NOTE: Fluorescent bulbs show a marked drop-off in light output after 2 years, so  we recommend replacing them on this interval. There is no need to purchase expensive Aquarium, Terrarium, Deluxe, or Plant Growth lights.

A recent development in seed starting involves High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide lights. These can produce in excess of 400 W of light. With the use of reflective mylar (the shiny material which party balloons are made of) and with the lights 3-4 feet above the plants, a very large number of plants can be grown. If there is interest in this subject, we can expand on it in a separate article.

It’s a Breeze

Use an oscillating fan to provide a gentle breeze over your seedlings for several hours per day. This will encourage them to grow thicker stems and overall stockier plants.

Problem: Tomato seedlings are not growing thick stems.

Solution: Although commercial greenhouses use chemical growth inhibitor sprays which encourage seedlings to grow thick, stocky stems, and also grow seedlings at low temperatures (50-60°F), you can mimic some of this by using an oscillating fan to encourage thicker stems on your plants.

NOTE: Many major retailers do not carry oscillating fans in December-February as they are a seasonal item.

Fertilizing Your Seedlings

Emerging tomato seedlings will first show two slender rounded leaves called cotyledons. Sometimes these are attached to the coat of the seed they germinated from. You may use a moist Q-Tip or gingerly use a pinching movement with your fingers to rescue your seedlings from these stubborn seed coats.

The next set of leaves are the “true” leaves s0-called because they are the main type of leaves your tomato plants will have. Each tomato variety has leaves which are slightly different.

Until you see a second set of true leaves start to emerge (seedlings will typically be 3-4″ tall at this point), it should not be necessary to apply any type of fertilizer. We recommend preparing Maxicrop seaweed/kelp emulsion or fish emulsion at half their normal strength (1/2 tsp per 20 oz) in a completely clean spray bottle which is free of any chemical residues.

Unless you intend to grow your seedlings beyond the typical 6-8 week timeline (producing 8-10″ tall seedlings), this should be the last fertilization your seedlings need until they are ready to be transplanted into the ground.

Potting Up (Transplanting)

If you started your seeds in trays, then you will need to transplant up to 4″ pots when the plants have reached a suitable size, typically 3-5″ tall and with their third set of true leaves. Your seed starting tray should be well-watered about 30 minutes before transplanting. Tomato plants are very resilient and if they’ve had a good drink of water, they’ll stand up well to the transplant process.

Tomato plant stems have many fine hairs which have the remarkable ability to become roots if buried. Take advantage of this by transplanting your tomato seedlings as deep as you can. We recommend picking off any leaves that will be buried in the soil by this process. If the seedling is not tall enough to have leaves above the surface of the soil, then add some soil to the bottom of the pot prior to transplant.

Hardening Off

Seedlings started under artificial light must slowly become acclimated to sunlight before they can be transplanted into the garden. The midday hours of 11am-2pm are the most likely to damage tender plants due to the sun’s intensity, so exposure should be avoided until plants have been suitably prepared.

1 – 1 1/2 weeks before planting, your seedlings can be moved outdoors into full shade for 1-2 days and then gradually provided with dappled or direct sunlight on a gradually increasing duration. If evening temperatures are predicted to fall below 45 degrees or high winds are predicted, move seedlings indoors. Hardening off times can be doubled on cloudy days. Here is a general hardening off itinerary:

[Day 1] Full Shade
[Day 2] 10 minutes of morning sun.
[Day 3] 15 minutes of morning sun. 10 minutes of afternoon sun.
[Day 4] 45 minutes of morning sun. 30 minutes of afternoon sun.
[Day 5] 1 1/2 hours of morning sun. 1 hour of afternoon sun.
[Day 6] 3 hours of morning sun. 2 hours of afternoon sun.
[Day 7] 4 hours of morning sun. 3 hours of afternoon sun.
[Day 8] Ready to plant.

We realize that many folks cannot do the type of “babying” described above.  There are several methods of unattended hardening off, including placing some type of protection, such as a lawn chair, inverted laundry basket, or lumber supported by bricks or five gallon buckets directly over the plants that will allow morning and afternoon sun to reach the plants, but block the searing midday sun until your plants are ready for it.

A solution of kaolin clay powder (marketed as Surround) mixed with water may be sprayed onto plants to provide a protective physical “shell” to reduce sunlight exposure. This sunblock would need to be reapplied in case of rain. Seedlings may also be placed outside under a 50% shade cloth if you have a means to support this cloth over the plants. At the very least, tomato seedlings should be exposed to dappled shade as much as possible leading up to transplant.

Plants which have not been hardened off will exhibit foliage damage 1-2 days after exposure. A characteristic dessication of the leaves from improper hardening off (tan smooth spots where the leaf has dried out and become paper-thin) can stunt or kill seedlings.

Going Outdoors

Tender seedlings are vulnerable to insect pests such as flea beetles and leaf miners. Flea beetles leave behind tiny holes in the leaves. Leaf miners leave zigzagging tracks in the leaves of the seedlings. In both cases, there is no point in spraying the plants with insecticides as the insects which caused the damage are gone by the time you find evidence.

Preemptively spraying plants with Surround or dusting the plants with Sevin (carbaryl) when they are first set out will protect them from most opportunistic insects.

When to Plant?

The most common question about growing tomatoes in South East Texas is when to plant.

If we wait until all danger of frost has passed (mid-April), then we will get very few tomatoes, especially from late season varieties (most heirlooms). So we must plant out large, healthy transplants in early- to mid-March and be willing to protect our plants from the occasional cold temperatures.

Most of your tomato fruitset will typically occur in late March (if you were able to get your plants out early), April, and early May. By late May to early June, evening temperatures are no longer dipping below 70. The high humidity and “muggy” conditions” inhibit your tomato plants from setting fruit. Daytime temperatures in the low 90’s also denature the pollen in tomato blossoms, putting an end to any further tomato fruitset.

It is really imperative to get plants out as early as possible and be willing to protect said plants with row cover and other measures. Waiting until April is not an option!

Don’t Trust the Weatherman!

The High and Low temperatures provided by many television newscasts, newspapers, and websites can be very misleading. They do not always indicate the highest and lowest temperature per day, but instead estimate the temperatures at midnight and noon. The coldest time of day is typically 6 AM.

We strongly recommend consulting the National Weather Service, or Weather Underground to get hour-by-hour predictions of expected temperatures for your area (ZIP code). Weather Underground is usually pessimistic (they always low-ball evening temperatures) which makes it an especially valuable website for farmers and gardeners. Both sites also provide Hour-by-Hour temperature predictions which can be helpful to know if plants will be exposed to only a brief dip or experience a prolonged exposure to cold temperatures.

NOTE: Seedlings that are still in containers or pots should be brought indoors if evening temperatures are predicted to go below 45°F or if high winds are expected.

We recommend planting tomato seedlings outdoors when overnight temperatures are forecast to remain above 40°F for the next 5 days. After planting your tomatoes outside, we recommend consulting a trusted weather website daily until mid-April. For the last 5 years, we have had at least one unexpectedly cold night (below 40°F) in early to mid- April.

In the event of a predicted frost (below 38°F), immediately install row cover, blankets, walls of water, or tarps during the day to trap as much heat as possible. Clear plastic or plastic tarps may be used but should not be allowed to touch plants as they will burn/damage the plants when the cold sets in.

If you have too many plants to protect using the above methods, then constant misting with water from a hose or use of sprinklers has been shown to keep plants from succumbing to frost damage as low as 33°F. City and well water are typically over 40°F and so will provide a temporary “temperature blanket” effect. This solution will increase the amount of fungal problems during the season (specifically early blight), but it is worth it if your plants can be saved.

If plants are lost due to cold, you will be dependent upon your own “backups” (you did grow 2 of every plant, right?) or, as a last resort, the last remaining tomato plants marked on clearance at the local nurseries.

Planting Dates

Exact planting dates change from year-to-year, because weather is so variable. However you cannot wait until the risk of frost is gone. We recommend that you start watching the weather and plan towards certain dates, but always be prepared to delay.

We’ve got a separate article on Tomato Growing Timeline & Gardening Calendars.

This sounds complicated! Can I buy plants?

If you have reached this point of the article and the idea of starting your own tomato seeds sounds daunting, or the calendar on the wall indicates that it’s already February, you’ll be surprised to know that there are excellent nurseries in the major southeast Texas cities and surroundings which carry a wide variety of healthy plants. Although I start my own seeds every year, inevitably I do buy a few plants at local nurseries to support local business. Sometimes  they have a great variety I hadn’t thought of. You can safely assume that plants from local nurseries have already been hardened off and are ready for transplant.

Houston – Inside Beltway 8: Wabash Antiques, Another Place in Time, Southwest Fertilizer and Buchanan’s Native Plants all have an excellent array of tomato and pepper varieties.

Houston – Outside of Beltway 8: RCW Nurseries is starting to carry a good selection of herb and vegetable plants. Cornelius Nurseries, Houston Plants & Garden World and Houston Garden Centers all carry the ubiquitous Chef Jeff’s line of tomato and pepper plants which have some good choices.

Austin: Bloomer’s in Elgin, TX has a good selection of well-grown transplants beyond the usual box store hybrids. The Natural Gardener in Austin is also worth checking out.

San Antonio: We are currently inquiring about the best nurseries in San Antonio.

Dallas/Ft. Worth: Calloway’s Nurseries has nearly 20 locations in and around Dallas, Fort Worth, and Plano. We have not investigated, but presumably they have the Chef Jeff’s line of plants which have some good choices.

Revised: 2010.08.23, 2011.01.13, 2011.02.21

A question I am frequently asked is “Should I leave tomatoes on the vine until they’re ripe for best flavor?”

Every once in a while, I will find a fully ripe tomato on the vine that I missed. This is rare, as usually the squirrels or mockingbirds eat them. What surprises me is that they don’t really taste any better than tomatoes I pick and ripen indoors on a countertop. An informal poll on tomato forums confirm this, with most gardners reporting no noticeable improvement in flavor over tomatoes that were picked after first blush and finished indoors.

At this point, I consider vine ripening to be a marketing myth.

The biggest causes of poor flavor in grocery store tomatoes are actually:

• Varieties selected for productivity, early harvest, uniform size and shape, and disease resistance/tolerance.
• They are grown in nearly sterile soil and fed on a diet of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
• They are picked completely green (1st breaker stage), and shipped off to an ethylene gas chamber to artificially ripen. Remember: “Vine ripened” has no legal definition.
• They are shipped thousands of miles in refrigerated trucks.
• They are then refrigerated again at the grocery store until they are put out for sale.

All of these steps conspire to produce a completely flavorless tomato.

In S.E. Texas, stink bugs, leaf-footed bugs, squirrels, mockingbirds, and unexpected afternoon rainstorms make leaving tomatoes on the vine until fully ripe a dicey proposition.

Tomatoes harvested at about 1/2 blush and will finish ripening indoors.

Don’t Refrigerate Your Tomatoes!

Out of curiosity, I took one of my best homegrown heirloom tomatoes and refrigerated it for 24 hours and the loss of flavor was shocking. It was almost as bland as a grocery store tomato.

[ Information on this event and Photos of Past Events >> ]

We are looking forward to the 2010 season and if you haven’t planted your seeds yet, this is probably the last weekend to do it!

If you have any experiences you’d like to share, or post your own article, just post a Comment and we’ll check it out.

-Morgan

1. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan or stockpot. Submerge tomatoes in boiling water for 60-90 seconds, and then rinse in cold water. Skins should slips off easily. If not, submerge tomatoes in boiling water longer.

If you have a serrated vegetable peeler, you may peel and core each tomato instead of the hot water bath.

2. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large non-reactive bowl.

3. Finely dice the tomatoes (discarding any firm or woody parts) and transfer them, including any collected juices, to the strainer. Sprinkle approximately 1/4 tsp table salt or 1/2 tsp Kosher salt on tomatoes for each pound of tomatoes and toss. Allow tomatoes to rest for 30 minutes.

4. In a 10″ skillet or medium saucepan, add 1 tbsp olive oil, 3 cloves of minced garlic, and 1/8 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes. Set over medium low heat.

5. Using a spatula, press down on the salted tomatoes to exude as much juice as possible. When garlic is sizzling and fragrant, transfer diced tomatoes to garlic-oil pan.

6. Separately, pour the collected tomato juice from the strainer and strainer bowl into a 12″ nonstick skillet and place over medium to medium-high heat. Simmer tomato juice at a rolling boil for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a rich tomato paste.

7. If you don’t have fresh oregano, add 1/2 tsp of dried oregano to the sauce now. Simmer diced tomatoes for approximately 10 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer tomato paste from skillet to diced tomatoes and stir until combined. Add 1-2 tbsp water if sauce starts to dry out.

8. Season with freshly ground black pepper, and fresh chopped oregano and chopped basil leaves.

To make pasta, bring 4 quarts of water in a large stockpot to a boil. Add 2 tsp of salt and your choice of pasta to the boiling water and cook as directed (stopping 1-2 minutes short), until pasta is just al dente.

Dump pasta into a colander and allow to rest ~30 seconds, without rinsing or shaking the pasta. Return pasta to stockpot and add about 1/3 of sauce to the pasta, tossing to coat pasta with sauce. Adding sauce to slightly wet pasta will cause the pasta to bond with the sauce and soak up its flavors.

Serve pasta, passing additional sauce and shredded Parmesan cheese on the side.

Our mission at SETTFest is to introduce heirloom tomatoes to Central and South Texas gardeners and farmers alike, dispel the myths that only ‘heat setter’ varieties can be grown here, and offer advice and seeds wherever we can. So it was great to see folks asking lots of questions (including a few stumpers!), gathering seeds, and talking shop.

We are thrilled that more and more folks are bringing tomatoes and other items as well. There was a nice spread of breads, cheeses, pasta salads, etc. This was a tough year for tomatoes in our area due to the heatwave and torrential downpours in early May. But still most folks managed to get something and we enjoyed tasting varieties that others brought. Indeed one of the best varieties at the event was Atkinson.

Thanks all for making this a great event!

View photos of the 2009 SETTFest!

At one time, the only method for cleaning tomato seeds was fermentation. However we have found this technique to be unpredictable and time-sensitive, not to mention the undesirable odors and repulsive molds and fungus that grow during the process.

We have found a more predictable, tidy approach involving Oxiclean washing powder. Seeds can be cleaned in 30 minutes, which is invaluable if seeds must be saved before a vacation, or large batches must be processed at once. In the seed preservation industry, a similar process substituting the chemical cleaner Tri-Sodium Phosphate is used instead.

If you treat tomato seeds properly, they can be stored for 5-10 years and still show a high germination rate.

Fermentation

The classic method of saving seeds is to leave them out in a plastic container for a few days until they start to ferment. The tomato solids produce a strong smell and sometimes develop a “fungus mat” during this process. Because of the unpleasant aroma, some people have been driven to ferment their seeds outside. But because 100 degree temperatures are typical for S.E. Texas — a temperature that can “cook” tomato seeds — we have found fermentation to not be the most preferable technique.

Fermentation is also unpredictable. You never know how long it’s going to take for the seeds to separate from the tomato solids. If you’re going on a trip or out of town for the weekend, you might come back to dried out, useless seeds.

Can I Save Seed from Hybrids?

Tomato seeds grown from open pollinated varieties will always produce the same variety from year to year provided there has been no inadvertent cross-pollination by insects. Seeds from hybrid tomato varieties are likely to produce many different offspring with variations in fruit size, color, and flavor.

Unless you are willing to take your chances and experiment with the results, seeds should only be saved from open pollinated varieties (eg, heirlooms).  Seeds saved from hybrids and crosses may not be true-to-type. If you are considering saving seeds from tomatoes found at the grocery store, realize that most are grown from hybrids (F1) and thus there is a high probability that you will not get the same tomato when you save seeds and grow them.

Seeds should be saved from tomatoes which are noticeably ripe. If possible, avoid saving seeds from deformed or “catfaced” tomatoes as they may have resulted from a fused blossom. Since a fused blossom is usually a much larger flower than the typical tomato blossom, there is a higher likelihood it attracted bees or other pollinators. The seeds you save might be cross-pollinated from another tomato and yield unexpected results.

Seed Saving Step-by-Step

Note: Make sure your work surface, utensils, cups, strainer, and fingernails are clean and free of any stray seeds before and after each seed saving session.

Hint: It is helpful to get a paper plate ready by writing the variety name on it with a permanent marker before you begin. It’s easy to walk away and forget what variety you saved seeds from! Don’t write with a gel or regular ink pen as the moisture from drying seeds will obscure your writing.

1. Select ripe tomatoes of one variety to save seeds from.
2. Cut a hole or X on the bottom of each tomato and squeeze the juice and seeds into a measuring cup.
3. If the seeds and juice from the tomato are less than 1 cup, add water to make 1 cup.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of Oxiclean washing powder for each cup of tomato seeds/pulp/water.

1. After 30-45 minutes, stir, then pour seeds through a fine mesh strainer.
2. Rinse off seeds until they no longer feel “slippery”.
3. Use a paper towel to dry off the bottom of the strainer.

1. Turn the strainer upside down and whack it onto a non-coated paper plate to transfer the seeds to the plate.
2. Spread seeds around so they are not all clumped together. This will allow the seeds will dry properly. Cover loosely with a paper towel and place out of reach of children, cats, ceiling fans, etc. for approximately 1 week or until seeds are dry.
3. Scrape seeds into a paper envelope (such as Coin Envelopes from your local office supply store) and label with variety name, year, and your seed source.

Mailing Seeds

Domestically, it is easy to mail 3-5 packets of seeds in a standard sized business envelope. Because seed packets can slide around in the envelope when handled, it is strongly recommended to take a blank sheet of letter sized paper and tape the seed packets to it in such a way that no two seed packets are overlapping.

Loose seed packets can attract the attention of postal inspectors, not to mention that seeds may be crushed by mail sorting equipment if all the seed packets slide to one end of the envelope. Bubble mailers may be used if you wish to ensure safe arrival of your seeds.

Mailing seeds to other countries poses additional challenges. Padded/bubble mailers attract attention, so we do not recommended them. One suggestion is to mail individual seed packets inside of greeting or holiday cards.

Located 20 minutes from scenic Brenham, TX, this state park has authentic recreations of crafts and farming of the time of the founding of the Republic of Texas. The excellent facilities available to us at this location should draw a great crowd! Last year we had over 150 tomato varieties represented.

Setup begins at 11am, with the Tasting running from 12:30pm to 3pm.

EVENT INFO | DOWNLOAD FLYER

If you have any suggestions or feedback, please feel free to leave your comments below or use the Contact Us form. If you’ve got photos of your garden or your tomatoes you’d like to send us for inclusion in the website, please send us an e-mail and we’ll arrange that as well.