The 2023 seed saving project is about 30% complete. In other terms: at least 400 hours of work left to do before all seeds are extracted, dried, packaged, and inventoried. As mentioned in the previous blog post, updates, at least for tomato seeds, are being published frequently here:
Delectation of Tomatoes Partial List of Tomato Seeds from the 2023 Season
In reality, the tomato seed inventory from the 2022 season is less than 5% complete, though a rough inventory keeps me semi-functional. Packaged and alphabetized tomato seeds are currently distributed among about 33 boxes, with 2022 and 2023 seeds separated from the rest. Distinctly NOT an efficient way to run things when I’m trying to fill seed requests, and more than a tad taxing on the old memory.
The first significant snowstorm of the season arrived the day after Thanksgiving, and dropped about 3″ of the white stuff. Nighttime temperatures since then have been in the 11° to 22° F range.
Cooler weather has dramatically reduced the activity of fruit flies, especially their reproduction. Indoor temperatures have been kept in the 41° to 52° F range, at least for the past couple of weeks. This means a transition from the less desirable “maggot method” of tomato seed preparation to the much preferred (and less stinky) fungal method. No more of this extra, unpleasant, and time-consuming step of separating out maggots from seeds, AFTER seed extraction!
On a much more pleasant and appetizing note, there are still quite a few good looking and edible tomatoes, so I’m not yet suffering from lack of homegrown, ripe tomatoes to satisfy that never-faltering craving! Some homegrown peppers and melons also remain part of my diet.
Next up: figure out how to work four times as fast so all seeds will be extracted, processed, packaged, and inventoried before the first day of 2024. As usual, ambitions far exceed abilities…
Delectation of Tomatoes, etc. 