You're viewing a single thread.
Since I see a lot about second generation peppers not being as good as first, does that go for tomatoes too? There are those really tasty grocery store cherry tomatoes that come in different varieties in one box. They cost like 4x the others but I get them when they're discounted before they throw them away. Can I save the seeds and grow them in my containers?
We grew some cherries in containers this year before they got invaded by stinkbugs. But those that survived were the tastiest tomatoes I've had in my life.
Homegrown tomatoes reveal that the stuff we're served at grocery stores and cheap restaurants aren't really tomatoes at all. I've never tried to grow from seeds out of grocery store produce because you can get packets of seeds for a couple of bucks, and I've heard that the produce from grocery store seeds will be sub-par.
Produce is sold by weight, not taste or nutrition. Grocery store varieties have been selected for weight so they maximize value. That weight is mostly just water, and their taste is crap compared to older heirloom varieties.
The issue is whether the produce you're procuring seed from is a hybrid or not. If it's not, you should be good to go with seed saving. If it is a hybrid, the results will be unpredictable, although not necessarily bad. This is an interesting read on the topic: https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/save-hybrid-seeds-zbcz1602/
I think I know what tomato product you're referring to, and I think you'd really like a lot of the heirloom cherry tomato varieties out there, which are even tastier. They're very common in almost any seed catalogue nowadays (so many varieties it's overwhelming!), but if you want to sample them first, I'd recommend stopping by a farmers market next summer. Be sure to chat with the seller to find out if they're hybrids or not; larger farms will probably have hired help selling the products so you may not get a good answer, but if the seller is the farmer themself, they'll absolutely know whether the tomatoes they're selling are hybrids or not. I also would recommend either the seed catalogue or farmers market routes because that way you'll be able to match the tomato variety to your growing conditions; a tomato variety bred for hydroponic growing for instance may not do well in soil. Also there are two types of tomatoes, determinate and indeterminate, which have slightly different care and harvest requirements. In short, you're better off knowing what variety of tomato you're growing so you can research care and growing conditions, vs growing seeds from an unknown tomato variety where you have to wing it and hope for the best.
Oh wow that's a lot of useful info. Thanks so much! The cherries we grew this year were actually from a granny farmer from the farmer's market. Her veggies are always the tastiest there and she seems to know her stuff, bless her. Thanks a lot for the link! 🍅
Tomatoes only grow true to seed if they haven't been cross-pollinated. You can try, but there is no guarantee. Dry the seeds on a paper towel next to a radiator for a day before you plant them, it reduces the chance of mold foiling your plan.
Bell peppers need warm temps, full sun, good soil, and take a long time to grow. A lot of backyard gardens aren't the best conditions for them. Wouldn't be surprised that the second generation would taste as good without the growing conditions the first gen had.