L OCAL LIVING
District
9 DC
ACOOK’S GARDEN From ooze to ahs! Harvesting tomato seeds by Barbara Damrosch
Nobody ever told me that farming was a glamorous way of life, and it’s just as well they didn’t. The first commercial crop I was ever responsible for, at my first farm job, was a field of rotting tomatoes. None were being grown for food, only for the preservation of their seeds, to be cleaned and sold to a seed company. Each day I would
gather the squishy ones with the white scum beginning to form, load them into buckets and dump them into large barrels. When they were soft and putrid enough, I would mash them vigorously with a heavy iron tamper, let them ooze for a
few more days, then clean them and spread them on screens to dry. The only things that smelled worse were the cucumbers that I tackled next. Honestly, I got used to it. But now that it is September and seed-saving time, I marvel at how much more pleasant it is to save just enough seed for a home crop of eating tomatoes, or even a modest commercial one. As long as the variety you save is open-pollinated (as most heirloom tomatoes are), they will probably breed true to seed and can be saved for the following year’s planting. Taking the best
BIGSTOCK
Save seeds from this year’s best tomatoes for next year.
tomatoes from a number of plants of that variety will give you a good genetic mix, and they needn’t be rotten, just ripe. Cut the fruits in
half at their waistlines, and squeeze their seeds into a labeled container such as a glass jar. (Eat what’s left!) Add several inches of water to the jar and set it aside, out of direct sunlight but in a warm spot. A flotilla of fungal matter will
form after a few days, but you may cover the jar to avoid the smell, deter fruit flies and prevent a tidy family member from throwing out the whole thing. Keep the lid loose, though, to encourage the fermentation that is the key to this little operation. The gel coating that has kept the seeds from germinating will break down, and any good, viable seeds will sink to the bottom. Stir from time to time. After no more than five days, spoon off and discard the moldy debris on the surface, and pour off the water. Add fresh water to the seeds, stir and let them settle again. Do this until the seeds are clean, then drain them well in a
fine strainer and spread them on a screen or a plate so that they’ll dry quickly, out of the sun. When they are absolutely dry and are easily separated with your fingers, they can be stored in an airtight jar or plastic bag and will keep for at least five years.
If you’ve grown tomatoes
before, you know that they germinate readily, grow vigorously and produce fruits — and seeds — in great abundance. The fact that tomato seeds are so easy to save makes them ideal gifts to stick into an envelope and send to faraway relatives and friends. Come spring, up will come these tiny pieces of your garden, sprung out of muck, manure, rot and decay. Not much glamour in that, but a bit of poetry, yes.
localliving@washpost.com
Damrosch is a freelance writer and the author of “The Garden Primer.”
BIGSTOCK Fall beauty: Fountain grass.
Late-season annuals and perennials can be added to flower beds now to rejuvenate tired displays for another six to eight weeks of show. Daisy-like Korean
chrysanthemums add a lot of punch, along with Mexican bush sage, purple fountain grass, asters and petunias. — Adrian Higgins
Higgins’s gardening column will return next week. Follow @adrian_higgins on Twitter, and read his Groundwork posts Mondays on the All We Can Eat blog, at www.washingtonpost. com/allwecaneat.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Green without compromise™ Zero VOCs after tinting and the premium performance you expect from Benjamin Moore®
. Available in unlimited colors. WASHINGTON DC
FRAGERS HARDWARE 1115 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE SE (202) 543-6157
MONARCH PAINT & WALLCOVERING CO. 5608 CONN. AVENUE NW (202) 686-5550
MONARCH PAINT & WALLCOVERING CO. 2130 WISCONSIN AVENUE NW (202) 625-2600
MONARCH PAINT & WALLCOVERING CO. 504 K STREET NW (202)289-1601
MARYLAND
ANNAPOLIS REGAL PAINT CENTERS 222 CHINQUAPIN ROUND ROAD (410) 266-5072
BELTSVILLE WILL’S HOME DECORATING 10508 BALTIMORE AVENUE (301) 937-6100
BETHESDA GLEN ECHO HARDWARE 7303 MACAURTHUR BOULEVARD (301) 229-3700
STROSNIDERS HARDWARE 6930 ARLINGTON ROAD (301) 654-5688
Painting & Color Services Network
benmoorelink.com
Available through Benjamin Moore
WHITE FLINT MALL 11301 ROCKVILLE PIKE NORTH BETHESDA,MD
20895-1021
Visit our Color Station at theWhite Flint Mall
FREDERICK REGAL PAINT CENTERS 1111 NORTH EAST STREET (301) 662-8242
GAITHERSBURG REGAL PAINT CENTERS 23 WEST DIAMOND AVENUE (301) 670-7016
HAGERSTOWN REGAL PAINT CENTERS 17758 GARLAND GROH BOULEVARD (301) 393-4420
©2010 Benjamin Moore & Co. Aura, Benjamin Moore and the triangle “M” symbol are registered trademarks, licensed to Benjamin Moore & Co.
MOUNT AIRY REGAL PAINT CENTERS 1001 TWIN ARCH ROAD (301) 703-4340
POTOMAC STROSNIDERS HARDWARE OF POTOMAC 10110 RIVER ROAD (301) 299-6333
ROCKVILLE LUU COLOR CENTER 5022 NICHOLSON LANE (301) 984-0066
REGAL PAINT CENTERS 500 HUNGERFORD DRIVE (301) 424-8555
SILVER SPRING REGAL PAINT CENTERS 8211 GEORGIA AVENUE (301) 589-2284
WHEATON REGAL PAINT CENTERS 2200 UNIVERSITY BOULEVARD W. (301) 946-0323
VIRGINIA
ALEXANDRIA POTOMAC PAINT AND DESIGN CENTER 3610 KING STREET #E (703) 379-5800
OLD TOWN HARDWARE 809 S. WASHINGTON STREET (703) 879-0475
ARLINGTON POTOMAC PAINT AND DESIGN CENTER 5701 LEE HIGHWAY (703) 534-4477
CHANTILLY POTOMAC PAINT AND DESIGN CENTER 13900 METROTECH DR. (703) 961-1200
FAIRFAX COLOR WHEEL PAINT CENTER 2802-D MERRILEE DRIVE (703) 356-8477 X2
VIENNA PAINT OF FAIRFAX 11000 FAIRFAX BOULEVARD (703) 273-5030
FALLS CHURCH VIENNA PAINT OF BARCROFT 6349 D COLUMBIA PIKE (703) 914-0220
GAINESVILLE VIENNA PAINT OF GAINESVILLE 7466 LIMESTONE DRIVE (571) 222-7900
HERNDON VIENNA PAINT OF RESTON/HERNDON 282 SUNSET PARK DRIVE (703) 733-3899
LEESBURG LEESBURG PAINT & DECORATING CENTER 305 V. EAST MARKET STREET (703) 771-2612
MANASSAS CARTER PAINT & DECORATING CENTER, INC. 7767 SUDLEY ROAD (703) 368-7385
MCLEAN COLOR WHEEL 1374 CHAIN BRIDGE ROAD (703) 356-8477 X1
SPRINGFIELD
JERRY’S PAINT & WALLPAPER CTR., INC 6715 A BACKLICK ROAD (703) 569-2622
STERLING VIENNA PAINT OF ASHBURN/STERLING 22135 DAVIS DRIVE #101 (703) 450-0300
VIENNA VIENNA PAINT & DECORATING 203 W. MAPLE AVENUE (703) 938-6115
WINCHESTER REGAL PAINT CENTERS 1650 VALLEY AVENUE (540) 665-1949
WOODBRIDGE PINEAPPLE PAINT CO. 12551 DILLINGHAM SQUARE (703) 680-5715
THE WASHINGTON POST • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92