This is a frequent discussion over on the Growing Tomatoes forum here not to mention on all the Exchange forums, and it depends on the trader and what their goals are so it is negotiated in advance. As long as your seeds are labeled properly as pure or OP then no one can complain. Most who trade actively, if the variety is of particular importance to them, will bag blooms, label their seed as such, and only accept those that were bagged and labeled as true/pure. Some traders don't care all that much and are willing to accept possible CP seeds as long as it is labeled as such - open pollinated. Where folks tend to get upset is if they are offered seeds labeled as a specific variety but NOT marked as open pollinated. If saving for yourself it is your choice. If heavily trading and high quality is a concern for you then bag blooms and ask for the same. Another issue in trading is if the seeds were disinfected or not and labeled as such. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ - How to prevent cross pollination

I just found out that the post office has been returning packages people sent me. The PO was reacting to a 2 year old "mail forwarding" hold that was no longer valid. :( I think I emailed everyone I've traded with about it, but if you sent me one and had it returned, please let me know. I've fixed the problem with the post office. Also, I'm willing to send people 'Reisetomate aus Siebenburgen' seeds for an SASE at this point. If you're interested, let me know! Eliza

Well, this is very interesting. Albert, you are so lucky to have had such a gardening heritage given to you. It sounds like the method your grandmother used, is like the method Trudi reports too. I find it fascinating to learn of the 'old ways' of doing things. Just my personal opinion, but I suspect that too often lots of valuable information and experiences have been lost along the way in the mad dash to advance technology. I suppose we have new problems now that we never had before too, though. Like the number of pathogens that can effect a plant. Trudi, I like that paper towel method, but I guess I would have to think that any method that could reduce pathogens, especially with tomatoes, might be the way to go. It always amazes me that pathogens transfer to the seeds themselves. Especially after drying them out, I would have thought a pathogen couldn't live under those conditions. You surprise me to say saving SunSugar could be worthwhile. I do follow your thinking about the process of selective evolution of tomato plants. I guess I have such a small garden with only 6 hours of sun maximum that my vegetable gardening efforts have morphed into less of a focus for me. If I had room to grow 10-20 tomato plants in full sun, I would find it a pleasure to attempt that kind of a process. I guess I could try to follow it, for a couple of years, anyway, with the space and number of plants I can do, because as you suggest, it is to produce plants that thrive in my backyard conditions. I grew Sungold every year for the last five but they were out this year and I bought SunSugar. Now, if I had been saving Sungold seed all this time, well, I'd be well on my way to having that dependable tomato plant. :-) Thanks....

Hello surfpnsbch, The grape tomatoes that you purchased may not grow true to type if they are hybrid tomatoes (many that are sold in stores are hybrid.) There are some store bought tomatoes that will grow true to type, but the only one I know of for sure is the "Santa Sweets" variety. You are of course, welcome to try saving the seeds, they might come true, but modern hybrids have several parent lines and the seeds could revert to any of them and not be the tasty one you saved for. But they might not be bad either. That's half the fun. If you know they are an heirloom or open pollinated variety, then you are set as they are most likely to grow true to type unless they have been crossed. If you are saving just a few, you may want to just dry them on a plate or paper towel without fermenting. A better option would be to clean them in a strainer with a disinfectant cleanser. I've linked to Wintersown.org's flyer on saving tomato seeds that way. (The point of the ferment in the article on how to save tomato seeds from the seed saving forum below is to not only break down the germination inhibiting gel around the seeds, but to reduce the pathogens that might be on the seeds.) As to how long saved seeds last, a lot depends on the storage methods. There are several people on the forums who have been able to germinate seeds that are more than 10 years old (I have) and I believe Carolyn137 (Carolyn Male) has germinated some much older than that. In general though, most of us try to save fresh seeds every 3-5 years since fresher seeds will germinate better. Hope that helps. Betsy Here is a link that might be useful: How to Save Tomato Seeds using disinfectant cleanser