Hello all
Can you please help me I live next to a park the park is around 20 ft above our property so all who walk by see into our home worse are the kinds who throw stones over and bottles
We have a 6ft metal fence up but with gaps So I have heard of jasminum nudiflorum Will this be good As I need something with cover all year round if possible Also the fence is over 40 ft long Any more ideas please Thank you
Tomato plants are easily grown from seed, especially with the assistance of a heated propagator to germinate them. Google will find you instructions suitable for the area you live in. In climates with frosty winters, we sow the seeds indoors about 6 weeks before it is safe to put the plants out, which is once all risk of frost is well past. Though if you have a greenhouse, then you have a wider range of options.
But I would not in general suggest taking seeds out of a tomato you bought in the shop, because many of them are hybrids and won't breed true, and might not have ripened sufficiently on the plant to be good seed. You'd do better to go to a seed seller and get tomato seed of varieties suitable for home cultivation in the area you live in.
But if you want to try taking seeds out of a tomato, etc, then this seed seller is pleased to tell you how to do it. 'Great Vegetable Seeds from The Real Seed Catalogue'
Not only may they be hybrids that won't come true from seeds, but they probably were developed for toughness, for shipping, and length of shelf life, instead of flavor.
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners by Suzanne Ashworth and Kent Whealy
(Available at better libraries near you.)
SEED PRODUCTION, HARVEST AND PROCESSING
Tomatoes used for paste and slicing are particu- larly easy for seed saving. The seeds can be saved and the fruit can be eaten or processed without any waste. Pick and wash fully ripe tomatoes, and then cut the fruits across the middle, not through the stem and blossom ends. This exposes the large seed cavi- ties and makes the seeds accessible without mashing the fruit. Now squeeze the seeds and surrounding gel into a bowl or bucket.
The same process can be used for cherry and cur- rant tomatoes, however grinding the fruits is far easier. Place the clean, fully ripe fruits in a blender or a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process at low speed until all of the fruits are mashed and the mix- ture is very thick. The small, hard seeds will not be damaged. To aid in seed separation, add one cup of water to each cup of mashed fruit and stir.
Each tomato seed is encased in a gelatinous sack. The gel in these sacks contains chemicals that inhibit seed germination, which prevents the seeds from sprouting inside the wet flesh of the tomato. In na- ture the ripe tomatoes fall from the plant and slowly rot. The rotting away of the fruits is a natural fer- mentation process during which the gel sacks are de- stroyed. Eventually the fruits totally rot away leav- ing the seeds on the surface of the soil, ready to ger- minate when conditions are" right.
Artificially duplicating the tomato fruit's fermen- tation process is not difficult. In addition to remov- ing the gel sack, fermentation also kills many seed- borne tomato diseases. The container of tomato seeds and gel should be set aside to ferment for one to three days. Fermentation will proceed more quickly as the daytime temperatures increase.
During this period the container of seeds will be- gin to stink and will become covered with a layer of white or gray mold. Because of the horrible smell, do not keep the bowl in the house or where it might be tipped over by animals or children. The fermenta- tion process should be stopped when the layer of mold completely covers its surface. Be sure to monitor the process closely because, if allowed to continue too long, the seeds will begin to germinate in the mixture.
Add enough water to double the mixture and then stir it vigorously. The good seeds will settle to the bot- tom of the container, allowing the mold and debris and hollow seeds to be poured off. Add more water and repeat the process until only clean seeds remain.
Some growers prefer to pour the entire contents of the container into a strainer, without adding any water, and then wash under running water, make a fist and use the fronts of your fingers to rub the mod and softened debris through the screen. Wipe the bot- tom of the strainer on a towel to remove as much mois- ture as possible and dump the seeds out on a glass or ceramic dish to dry. Do not attempt to dry the seeds on soft paper or cloth or non-rigid plastic, as it is ex- tremely difficult to remove the seeds from these sur- faces. Coffee filters, which are inexpensive to pur- chase, reportedly work well and tend to wick the moisture away from the seeds during drying.
To ensure even drying and to prevent the seeds from bunching together, stir at least twice a day. Never dry seeds in direct sunlight or in an oven. Tomato seeds will begin to germinate if not dried quickly. In hot hu- mid weather, a fan will help speed the drying process.
SEED STATISTICS
Tomato seeds will remain viable for 4-10 years depending on the variety and storage conditions. Completely dried seeds should be sealed in an air- tight container and stored in a cool, dry area or fro- zen for long-term storage. Members of the Seed Sav- ers Exchange annually offer about 3,200 varieties of tomatoes, and the Garden Seed Inventory lists sources for 1,080 varieties that are available from commer- cial seed companies. There are approximately 8,400 seeds per ounce (300 per gram or 135,000 per pound), depending on the variety. Federal Germination Stan- dard for commercially sold tomato seed is 75%.
GROWING TOMATOES FROM SEED
Tomatoes are short-lived perennial plants grown as annuals. Tomato plants are typically started in a greenhouse 6-8 weeks before the last average frost date, in order to ensure an early harvest. The plants are set out when the weather is stable and the soil is warmed. Tomatoes can also be direct seeded in long season climates, covering the seeds .25" deep. The seeds germinate at temperatures ranging from 75-95° F. with germination usually occurring in 5-7 days in greenhouse conditions. Germination is greatly en-
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Of course it's possible to grow tomatoes from seed saved. It is important to make sure that you're growing heirloom tomatoes as opposed to hybrids. Last year I grew 4 or 5 heirloom varieties (Black Krim, Black from Tula, Czech's Excellent Yellow, Risentraub, German Pink) from seed I bought from Seed Savers Exchange. I had excellent production, and saved the seeds from the biggest and best of all varieties. It isn't rocket science to save seed, and you don't need to go through all the machinations listed by some others. Simply remove the seeds and put them in a glass of water for a few days, then sieve the seeds in running water to remove the gelatinous outer coating, then simply separate the seeds and dry them on a paper towel. I used the seeds I saved this year to start my tom's. I had
100% germination. I started them in the house on a heat mat in January, then moved them to the (heated) greenhouse in February. They are fine, and about to go into larger pots. Our last average freeze date here in Texas is about March 21st. I would give it a try. What's to loose?HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.