They're not too old. You might presoak them in lukewarm water for an hour or so before sowing.

Older seeds usually have reduced germination percentage, sowing more seeds then you think you'll need as plants is something that you should do.

Forgive me for hijacking your thread deanriowa but I have a "viable seed" question myself and I know trudi is knowledgeable in this area. I think it's been answered here at the forums before but I can't find it I've been freezing the overflow of my tomatoes and just realized that I won't get the seeds from these. Is it possible to use seeds from tomatoes that have been frozen? Thanks.

Dean Warm water is good--Buttermilk is better--Carolyn will know the BEST method.---

Trudi frozen tomatoe seed work just fine(will be fun ---a mess cleaning them)
Good luck and GOD BLESS BILL

Is it possible to use seeds from tomatoes that have been frozen? Thanks.

****

No Sunsi, it isn't. ( smile)

More than one person has posted here in the past that such seeds are non-viable and they found out the hard way.

What happens when seeds are in a wet environment ( inside tomato) and frozen is that the seeds are destroyed by ice xstal formation.

(I have seeds from 2002(currants) and 2004, do I need to do anything special to get these seeds started?)

Since the currant seeds are from a wild species they tend to retain viability quite well.

And seeds from 2004 should give you germination in xs of 50%.

These comments per my saved seed.

If you want to do something b'c you're still not sure, just double sow your seeds.

Carolyn

Hmmm. I'm concerned about the seeds having a very rapid freezing in a liquid--their gel. Outside, in our natural environment, the temps fluctuate in a gradual way. In Autumn you can have sub-freezing temps in the evening once the sun goes down, but the day temp was not in seventies or eighties or nineties. During Autumn unpicked toms can and do rot off the vine, their fruits fall to the ground, the flesh rots away or is eaten by insects or critters and the seeds are dispersed. Some seeds survive to germinate the next year. The temperature change from night to day that they experience is not a huge difference. But, going from a warm climate to a frozen state in a very short time is a big difference and might have an adverse effect and burst the nucleus of the seed.

Take a tom from the freezer and let it come up to room temps and get some seeds from it, like ten of them. Sow the seeds and place them where you can observe the germination. If it's really hot where you are, then put them in cool window in your home--not near the AC because that's going to be too cool for timely germination. (Too hot or too cold will both delay germination) But if your house temps are in the mid seventies to low eigthies then any place with a good amount of light is fine. If the seeds are viable you should see germination in less than two weeks. If you sow ten seeds and seven sprout you've got 70% germination (etc), but that is for THAT tomato. I would think that germination may be similar in similar toms, larger toms take longer to freeze and faster freezing goes for cherries. So there's a lots variations in guesstimating success...the size of the fruits and the temp of your freezer are two of them.

I always say people learn best by doing--Learn by Doing--is the 4H motto, and I believe in that. Truly I do. That's why when you do it yourself you will see for yourself how it works out for you. It's an easy test to do, and it won't take much room or space, and it certainly isn't gonna make you have to open your wallet.

I don't know what you're outcome will be but I am very interested in knowing the results.

Good luck! May the Life Force be with You!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1380486}}