I think it will be fine. I would add some water, and just watch for when you swirl or shake it and most of the seeds sink to the bottom, gel-free. One summer I did the fermenting in my kitchen, and sometimes it takes the container awhile. I didn't have any sprouting, but do keep watch on the containers so you don't risk that.

huh??? ... ok ... this sounds interesting ... what is this fermenting thingy all about? ... is it for particular *kinds* of seed ... or ...

i joined gardenweb a yr. ago & this is the 1st time i have come across this term ... thanks for any info you are willing to give me, phyl

sorry ... i guess i answered my own question ... you are talking about tomatoes, right? ... i should have checked the search box 1st ... sorry ... phyl

Poor phyl! I'd thought about mentioning "I assume you mean tomatoes." I didn't realize that another reader might think "Oh no, there's something weird that apparently I should have been doing to all my seeds!"

soooo.... I've never saved before and would like to try with a few tomatoes. What's the purpose of fermenting and is it nessesary?
thanks!

Laura, one of the best discussions that I have found about tomato seed fermentation is in the link below. There seem to be posts missing from the thread, for reasons which I haven't figured out... but there is still a lot of good info.

The science can get dizzying, and you will note that there is disagreement even between experts, such as "to stir or not to stir". But in the end, all that matters is that the method is highly effective, and is the most widely used technique for saving tomato seed.

With some modifications, fermentation can also be used for other "wet" seed that is enclosed in a membrane (such as cucumbers). I fermented seeds for "Mexican sour gherkin" and "West Indian gherkin", with outstanding results. These seeds usually require less time to ferment than tomatoes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Saving tomato seed