Saved seeds are best!!

[esbo]

I planted 4 lot of tomato seeds, 1 lot were seeds saved from last year, 2 were packet seeds bought recently and the last lot were packet seeds from the year before.


The saved seeds lead the way, a good lost sprouted and going well. One lot of packet seeds bought this year is second, sprouted but not as big, the other lot of packet seeds are third, just about sprouted, not much sign of the year (or more old packet seeds).


I guess when you buy seeds you can't be to sure of how old they are, but I was impressed with the seeds I saved from last year much better than I expected.


I was not sure how to save the seeds so I just 'dug them out' of the tomato and placed them separately on some tissue paper, I had read some weird and wonderful methods for saving tomatoes seeds but they seemed too much trouble.

[Nicola.P]

When I was a out 7 I kept the seeds from a gala apple and wrapped them in kitchen roll, they got put on a shelf and forgotten about for a few months and then I found them so being 7yrs old I planted them. All of them grew but all but one got eaten by my rabbit.
That remaining one is now a 15ft apple tree in my mums garden and gives us apples similar to golden delicious. It only started giving apples about 3yrs ago (I am 31 now)

[Kristen]

I guess when you buy seeds you can't be to sure of how old they are

Seeds I buy, from reputable suppliers, are labelled with the year of packing (and a recommended "sow before" date)

It is rare that I don't get 100% germination from bought Tomato seeds ... often there are only around 10 seeds in a packet, so its easy to spot if they all grew or not! well ... compared to a packet of 1,000 Lettuce seeds!

[Alison]

Seeds I buy, from reputable suppliers, are labelled with the year of packing (and a recommended "sow before" date)

It is rare that I don't get 100% germination from bought Tomato seeds ... often there are only around 10 seeds in a packet, so its easy to spot if they all grew or not! well ... compared to a packet of 1,000 Lettuce seeds!

Although there are strict regulations on dating sold seeds, you don't have any control on how they've been stored and that can make a big difference (and in my experience not remotely connected to price). Didn't realise how few seeds you get in tomato packets these days, I've not bought any for quite a few years and certainly used to get a lot more, may depend on varieties and if you buy F1 etc, think a lot of mine were originally Real Seeds or HSL but a bit hazy after saving for so long

[Kristen]

Yes, mine are all F1 thus "expensive" per seed and few-ish in a packet. I only grow 6 plants of each [of three] variety, so a packet of 20 seeds lasts me three years.

Just had a look on Suttons site. All sorts of ranges of prices / packet sizes

F1

Sweet Million - 20 seeds - £2.99
Sweet Olive - 8 seeds - £3.99 (most expensive that I saw)
Shirley - 20 seeds - £4.99
Red Start - 10 seeds - £0.99

and others with prices inbetween

Non F1

Moneymaker - 50 seeds - £1.99
Gardeners Delight - 50 seeds - £2.49
Marmande - 120 seeds - £1.99 (cheapest I think)
Alicante - 60 seeds - £1.99

[Scarlet]

Didn't realise how few seeds you get in tomato packets these days, I've not bought any for quite a few years and certainly used to get a lot more, may depend on varieties and if you buy F1 etc, think a lot of mine were originally Real Seeds or HSL but a bit hazy after saving for so long

It also depends on the company, t&m , suttons etc are very mean on the seed count unlike Franchi - Tom seed pack typically have 300+ seeds per pack costing around £2-3. Well worth it if you don't save seed and have a few friends to split the pack.

[arpoet]

I saved tom seeds for the first time last year, after advice on the vine.
I saved outdoor, Garden Pearl, bush tom seeds. The bought seeds were £1.75 for 25 seeds. So far most of what i sowed have come up nicely. I will get far more plants than i need so dont worry if some fail as all i have lost is a bit of MPC which will not be wasted as it will go in the compost bins.

[Kristen]

When I want a bulk qty of seed I tend to use Moles Seeds. Free postage (except for heavy things like Peans, Beans and Green Manure) provided minimum order level reached

F1

Sweet Olive - 50 seeds - £10.20
Shirley - 50 seeds - £5.90
(Some F1 varieties 50 seeds for £3.50)

Non F1

Moneymaker - 1gm/375 seeds - £2.50
Gardeners Delight - 1gm/375 seeds - £3.40
Super Marmande - 1gm/375 seeds - £2.85
Alicante - 1gm/375 seeds - £2.50

Personally as I only want 6 plants a pack of 10-20 seeds is enough for a couple or three seasons for me, and price not particularly material (3 seasons of crop won't make much difference if the packet is cheaper elsewhere). That said, I buy most of my seeds in the Wyevale autumns ale at 50p-per-packet, which obviously favours the more expensive F1 packets.

[Kristen]

P.S. I had a look at the Franchi site. Very few Tomato varieties that I recognise (not that that matters!) all the F1 packs I saw seemed to be 60 seeds for £2.49, which is indeed a good price

Marmande was 390 seeds for £2.19, other non F1's looked to be same number of seeds / price.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Franchi and Vita Sementi tend to give hundreds in non F1 packs. Ridiculous amounts. Same goes for peppers, chillis etc..

I have germinated a few yellow cherry and black baby plum directly from the fruit (undried) this year (as an experiment in addition to my normal sowings) and some peppers.

Pretty much all the seeds germinated promptly. Obviously, I don't know if they were from F1 so it'll be pot luck. last year I did the same with some butternut seeds and I got some nice fruits.

[esbo]

Seeds I buy, from reputable suppliers, are labelled with the year of packing (and a recommended "sow before" date)

It is rare that I don't get 100% germination from bought Tomato seeds ... often there are only around 10 seeds in a packet, so its easy to spot if they all grew or not! well ... compared to a packet of 1,000 Lettuce seeds!

Well of course they can label them whatever they like, does not mean it is true though!

Mind you I guess if they are charging high prices they had better deliver the goods.

[esbo]

Mind you I guess there is not too much point in having hundreds of seeds in a pack unless you are farmer with a few acres to fill.

You can save some for the next year of course but them you are left with the dilemma of what if they do not germinate!

You could of course give them a couple of weeks to see if they germinate and then buy new ones if they don't but of course everyone wants to get off to an early start so that is a bit of a risk.

[esbo]

Anyway an up day, it seems pretty much every one of the saved seeds have germinated same goes for the ones I bought 3 or 4 of the old ones out of about 10-12 have germinate, some more may be coming through.

But generally they are doing well, will have to re-pot them soon as they are doing better than I expected!

[sparrow100]

Mind you I guess there is not too much point in having hundreds of seeds in a pack unless you are farmer with a few acres to fill.

You can save some for the next year of course but them you are left with the dilemma of what if they do not germinate!

You could of course give them a couple of weeks to see if they germinate and then buy new ones if they don't but of course everyone wants to get off to an early start so that is a bit of a risk.

Seeds generally last more than a year - tomatoes about 4 years. You can share them with friends so the cost is reduced. You have plenty of seeds to go for charity plant sales etc.

You say 'Well of course they can label them whatever they like, does not mean it is true though!'

Actually, no. UK companies are strictly regulated, have to retain samples of batches packed for 2 years in case a test is required - Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 set all this out. How on earth do you think they would consistently make money if they put 'whatever they like' on the packet? Quite apart from breaking the law?

[Kristen]

Well of course they can label them whatever they like, does not mean it is true though!

From a fly-by-night company maybe, but not if they are DEFRA approved - which applies to all the well known brand companies.