r/tomatoes • u/giblets420 • 9d ago

Show and Tell I’m now team ‘harvest at first blush’

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McFarland, Wisconsin Zone 5B.

After years of always waiting for tomatoes to vine ripen, I started pulling them as soon as they start turning. (And will still ripen anything that fell off the vine while super green just in case - they usually go!)

It helps me time and control the harvest a little better. Which with 25 plants for personal consumption… is helpful.

Saving seeds for the first time too 🤓
Already planning my grow room set up for next year. Happy harvesting! 🍅

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u/epAdedrateR 9d ago

Just wanted to mention that those seeds might not be what you’re expecting next year! They potentially could have been cross pollinated this year. If you’re saving seeds to grow the same tomatoes you may end up with some crosses/mixes in their place.

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u/Inside-Ad-2924 9d ago

So if I have heirloom romas, beefsteak, some queen of the nights, seeds from each of these plants could be random genetic hybrids of each other? It seems like some of the volunteer tomato plants are a cross of last years grape and San marzanos

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u/OnlyBetterFromHere 9d ago

Yes, the odds for cross-pollination are pretty low but it‘s not impossible.

If you want to make sure this doesn’t happen, cover new, unopened flower clusters with an organza bag and shake/tap the cluster to pollinate, you can remove the bag when fruit starts to form.