WILD TOMATOES PATCH
Thread started by
trickmilla at 10.25.10 - 10:44 am
Since the passing of Tomatoes I've been haunted by the idea of helping to create a Wild Tomatoes patch.
A place where people could go and throw rotten tomatoes, tomato seeds and seed bombs to encourage a wild tomato patch.
This space could function as a public memorial for the person and legend of Tomatoes.
On the practical side there a few challenges:
Location: the location should be public, accessible, and wet enough, enough of the year that the tomatoes will grow on their own.
At the same time the, tomatoes patch should not have a negative impact on the local ecology.
And finally, the patch should be somewhere where it is unlikely to get ripped out, the whole point is that eventually this place could keep reseeding itself, producing flowers and and giving fruit for many many years.
This project only makes sense to me if lots of tomatoes friends are interested in this, want to participate, and would want to visit the location from time to time.
If you think this is a crappy idea, I welcome the discussion.
This idea can only work if this is something that enough people, especially Tomatoes' friends and admirers are interested.
love,
Trickmillz
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Under the Colorado Bridge in Pasadena there are 24 different varieties of tomatoes I have planted as a memorial. They are together in a loose bunch in a far corner that gets very little traffic from the hikers/bikers.
I was not really planning on telling anyone, but since you mention it, you re welcome to enjoy it. This patch was for me and tomatoes mostly, so it might not be the easiest to find or get to. I know this might make it harder for you friends to find, but that's how it had to be.
The plants have been there since the 12th of October, and are growing pretty well. One of the plants might die, but it is a bit too far from the water source.
Like you, my idea is to have the plants reseed and maintain themselves, possibly making some sweet hybrids. I will be back in Spring with seeds / more clones just in case something happens.
TheDude10.25.10 - 10:57 am
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Dude!
I am so happy you've done this!
I would love to see it.
When this first came to me I started doing some research on varieties of wild tomatoes, the only one I could find a seed for is a "wild cherry tomato".
Might be a nice variety for the mix as it might help hybridize the other tomatoes and make them more suitable for growing wild.
Anyway if you want any help with this patch I'm down to help out.
If you want to keep it as your personal space ... I respect that too.
Respect!
farm on.
trickmilla responding to a
comment by TheDude
10.25.10 - 11:21 am
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how much are tomato seeds? we can be the johnny apple tree of tomatoes... maybe i'll plant seeds all along the orange line bike path
66610.25.10 - 11:24 am
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if you buy seeds from a seed bank they cost .05 to .20 a piece.
however if you want you can always buy some tomatoes open them, take out the seeds and dry them out and I am sure it would be a fraction of that cost.
trickmilla responding to a
comment by 666
10.25.10 - 11:30 am
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Tell them what the seeds are for, they will probably hook you up. Especially if you can hit up a larger nursery or whatever.
TheDude responding to a
comment by 666
10.25.10 - 11:36 am
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i like this plan better, i love eating tomatoes
666 responding to a
comment by trickmilla
10.25.10 - 1:12 pm
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From:
http://gardening.about.com/od/totallytomatoes/ss/TomatoSeeds.htm
(includes photos)
Many plant seeds can be saved simply by collecting them as they dry. Tomatoes take a bit more work. The tomato seeds are enclosed in a gel like sack that contains growth inhibitors, preventing the seeds from sprouting inside the tomato. The best way to remove this gel covering is to allow the fruits to rot and ferment. In nature this happens when the fruit falls off the plant. For seed savers, we're going to speed up the process.
The first step is to choose your best looking tomatoes. You want to save seed from the finest fruit, so that next year's plant will have good genes.
Slice the fruit in half so that the stem end is on one side and the blossom end on the other. This will expose the seed cavities better than if you sliced through the stem end.
In some paste and smaller tomatoes, the seeds are so concentrated in the cavity that you can scoop them out and still be able to use the flesh of the tomato for cooking. Many slicing tomatoes will require scooping out all of the flesh with the seeds. Whichever the case, scoop the seeds into a clean bowl or jar.
If the seeds are not floating in liquid from the tomato, add up to a cup of water to help separate the seeds from the pulp. Then set the bowl of tomato seeds and pulp in a warm, out of the way spot. You will need to allow 2-4 days for the fermentation to take place. As it does so, the mixture is going to begin to smell awful, so store the bowl where you won't pass by frequently.
If you have glass jars available, they make a good container for fermenting tomato seeds. The extra space at the top of the jar controls some of the odor and the clear sides let you keep tabs on what is happening. Covering the top of the jar with cheesecloth or paper towel will keep fruit flies out and also diminish the spread of the unpleasant odor.
What you eventually want to see is a layer of mold on top of your seeds & pulp. The process is done when bubbles start rising from the mixture or when the entire bowl is covered with mold. Don't leave the seeds fermenting past this stage or they may begin to germinate.
It is harder to see the layer of mold through the glass jar, but you can generally tell the fermentation is complete when the seeds settle to the bottom of the jar in a watery liquid and the thicker pulp and mold sit on top of them.
Finally you can remove and dispose of the mold covering. Lifting it before rinsing the seeds will make rinsing easier, but it's not necessary. You can add some water to the jar or bowl and stir or shake vigorously. The good seeds will settle to the bottom, allowing you to drain off the excess first.
Strain the seed mixture into a colander and rinse the seeds well under running water. Try to remove any remaining pulp bits.
Spread the seeds onto either a paper plate or glass dish, to dry. Don't use paper or paper towels or the seeds to stick and be difficult to remove. Set them in a warm, dry spot and allow to dry completely. Shake them on the plate daily to make sure they don't clump and that they dry evenly. Don't try to speed the process by using heat.
trickmilla10.25.10 - 1:39 pm
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