Saving store tomato seeds... what kind is this?

I don't usually buy store tomatoes except in the early spring when my frozen veggies from last year's garden are dwindling and I'm getting anxious for my garden to produce anything, anything at all! But when I walked through the store the other day and saw this tomato sitting in a bin labeled "heirloom tomatoes" with a bunch of other mixed varieties, I stopped and laughed at it. I read so many seed catalogs that I could name quite a few of the other varieties, but this one stumped me. So I bought it.





It's quite large, at least to me, and very odd shaped. There were others in the bin that had the same color and shape, but this was the biggest one. It's almost like a squat pear with some pleating. What's really cool, at least to me, is that it's hollow inside. The inside looks a lot like a pepper, in that there's side flesh, then ribs that connect to the middle, and all the seeds and gel are in a little blob in the middle. (I can't stand eating the gel and seeds of a tomato, which is why I think this is cool.) After sitting a day, it turned redder, but I would call the color pink.

So my question is, does anyone know what kind of tomato this is? The closest thing I could find was a variety called Zapotec pink, but those are just a little more pleated than this guy is. Anyone have any ideas? My plan is to save the seeds and try growing them next year, so I'd like to know what to call them in case anyone asks, lol.

Is it like a paste tomato inside? It is possibly one of the many types of Ox Heart.

Cuore di Bue (Ox Heart)

Oh, that looks like it! This picture is exactly what it looked like on the inside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cuor_di_bue_3in1.jpg

Thanks!

That is one weird tomato!

I read a very long drawn out process for seed saving that turned me right off to trying it. How will you save the seeds, LS?

CC

That's what I thought, CC. I thought it would be really fun to try and grow something so weird looking

I've heard that tomato seed saving isn't too hard, it just takes a little time. I've never done this before, but here's what I'm trying. You take the seeds and gel, put them in a cup and add a little water. Let it sit a few days until it ferments (starts smelling like alcohol), stirring a couple of times a day. Then wash the fermented gel and bad seeds (the ones that float) off and let the good seeds (the ones at the bottom) dry.

I could do that! I know we won't know until next year but please let me know if it works and they dry out OK?

CC

Sure thing! I plan on germinating a few seeds after they dry out to see if they'll actually do anything, lol. I would hate to make room in my crowded seed box for duds.

Good idea, Julie. I was thinking that when I take the tops off my tomato plants to allow green ones to ripen faster, that I would plant a top or 2 and see if I can grow one over winter in the bay window. Have you ever heard of anyone doing that? Maybe you could grow your germinated seeds...

CC

That's a fun idea. I actually grew a super dwarf kind of tomato this year called Red Robin. They're so tiny it's adorable, but they still yielded a lot of fruit. Anyway, it's actually semi cold tolerant so I plan on bringing it in and putting it in a window to see how it does through the winter. Here's what it looks like. It literally got no taller than 12 inches



As for growing the seeds I germinate.... I would love to try that but I think my house is too small for an indeterminate!

OMG...those little dwarfs are so cute!

I didn't think about the fact that my tom tops would be indeterminate. Hmm...guess I'll just start with one top and keep lopping it off and planting a new one once parent gets too big for the window - IF it has tomatoes on it already. I can see it now...all these tom tops of different sizes crowded in my bay window...

CC

From a PNW urban farm girl, she makes it look easy.

That was great! Thanks for posting it, Debs. I didn't get to listen to it as I don't have speakers at work but I think I saw somewhere that this method is OK for squash, too? Is that right?

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:....snip.... I didn't get to listen to it as I don't have speakers at work but I think I saw somewhere that this method is OK for squash, too? Is that right?

CC

I don't remember her saying that in the video but I'll have another look later. I am new at seed saving. January catalogue season was something I looked forward to. I do not spend money on shoes, decor or jewelry so my husband has always been kewl with me spending a load of money on garden stuff in January. This is the first year I have wanted to save seeds because we now have only enough income to pay the mortgage and basics. It has been an adventure. I'm up for it but still learning things like "are squash and tomato seed prepped the same way".

I attempted to save my first tomato seeds but have a few questions but let me explain what I did.
First I squeezed the seeds and pulp from one tomato to a glass jar, added some water, let it ferment for 4 days, remove the white film that had formed, and finally rinsed the seeds.
Now I have let them dry but they are sticking together; what did I do wrong??

I know this is old, but I had to update everyone on my seed saving endeavors.  I planted this tomato the following year (2013) after saving it from a grocery store heirloom tomato.  The plants did beautifully.  They produced toms just like the one I bought in the store.  I saved seeds again and grew it in 2014, and they did even better!  I loooove this tomato; it's mild and sweet and meaty and huge.  Before this tomato, I literally did not like tomatoes.  But this one really turned it around for me. 

Geez, looks like a tomato steak. Nice job, LS! Did you decide it was the Ox Heart?

CC

The only thing I can tell from the photo is it is some type of beefsteak tomato.

CC, that's my best guess.  When I plant these seeds, I just put Ox <3 on the label   I'm certainly glad I saved those seeds.

What a great tomato.  How lucky you saved the seeds from your first store-bought one.
To answer about the seeds sticking together, I drop my seeds onto a paper plate then dab them a bit dry with a paper towel.  Then I move those onto a piece of waxed paper, spreading them out.  I can write the name, variety, etc on the waxed paper at one end if am saving more than one variety.  When they dry, they won't stick.  They easily slide from the waxed paper into my little 2x3" baqgy.

A very important step in saving seeds From Your Garden is to isolate the tomato you plan to save from its first blossoming.  When the first blossoms start to form on the plant, slip a net bag over the branch of blossoms and keep it tightly closed so no bees or insects can cross-pollinate your tomato.  Just tap the branch each day when you're out in the garden so the blossoms can pollinate themselves.  Tomatoes and Peppers do this easily.  When the tomato has formed, you can remove the isolation bag and place a ribbon or some kind for tie next to the tomato so you know which tomatoes you isolated.  When its ripe, its ready to save seeds.

CapeC.....The video stated you can use this method with really RIPE  tomatoes, cukes, squash and beans.