A few years ago, I bought six cherry tomato plants at a local nursery, and I save the seeds each summer and fall from the best tomatoes. I let them ripen, then cut or squeeze the pulp and skin off, and lay the seeds on a paper plate or pie tin to dry, usually out on the grill (no flame). When they are dry, I scrape them into clean jars for the winter. In March or April, I plant them in my flowerbeds and pots. A large tub is the best planting pot because you can start out with cow manure and East Texas sand alternated in layers and mixed near the top. Place it in full sun. Be sure to install wire tomato cages into your pots to support the large plants. When I pick them, I put them on plastic trays near a window to finish ripening and usually have tomatoes until Christmas.
Jean Rhoads, Smith County Master Gardener
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