Seed-saving tips from Baker Creek

We stopped at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds on Sunday to buy seeds for next year. (And had a WONDERFUL lunch at their bakery. Jere's mom is such a good cook.) DH chatted with one of the workers who had been picking tomatoes for seed. DH wants to save seed from our volunteer yellow tomato plant. Everyone else may already know these things, but they were new to us so I'll pass along her advice.

She told him that vegetables which grow seeds in gel, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, have a growth inhibitor in the gel that must be fermented before the seeds will germinate well. She said to leave the seeds in the gel in a warm place for two days, and then put them in water to wash the gel off. Remove the gel, drain, and place the seeds on a fine, boxed screen. (She said they would look like oatmeal at that point.) Turn a gentle fan on them for about a week until they are dry enough to store.

I asked her about saving seeds from watermelons. She said to remove the seeds from a ripe melon and wash the sugar off of them before drying.

We realized how little we know about saving seeds and we bought one of their books. It's a completely new area for us but I'm excited to try it.

Great tips! Thanks

Do they have a website? oh never mind just saw it on another post.