We like the big Lidl vine tomatoes because, well, they taste more or less
like proper tomatoes.

I have noticed recently that if you give them a few (several) days to
finish ripening then the seeds start to germinate within the tomato.

This does suggest that they are pretty fresh and haven't been mucked about
with too much.

However I haven't seen the same thing with the (I assume hydroponic)
standard tomatoes.

Is there something they do to shop tomatoes which prevent the seeds from
germinating?

Cheers

Dave R

P.S. it does make me wonder if a Lidl tomato would be a better source of
germinating seeds than the average seed packet.

--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

David wrote:

Is there something they do to shop tomatoes which prevent the seeds from
germinating?

Irradiation?

David wrote:

This does suggest that they are pretty fresh and haven't been mucked about
with too much.

I would suggest the opposite; that they were on the shelf too long. I
hardly ever see tomato seeds germinate in situ, and a good method for
cleaning the seeds is to mix the pulp with water and ferment a couple of
days. If those seeds start to sprout, I've waited too long to wrinse and
dry.


--
Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/4 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

On Sat, 21 May 2016 12:57:20 +0000, David wrote:

We like the big Lidl vine tomatoes because, well, they taste more or less
like proper tomatoes.

I have noticed recently that if you give them a few (several) days to
finish ripening then the seeds start to germinate within the tomato.

This does suggest that they are pretty fresh and haven't been mucked about
with too much.

However I haven't seen the same thing with the (I assume hydroponic)
standard tomatoes.

Is there something they do to shop tomatoes which prevent the seeds from
germinating?


I do wonder if you haven't found out why my F1 seeds germinated so poorly.

On 21/05/16 13:57, David wrote:
We like the big Lidl vine tomatoes because, well, they taste more or less
like proper tomatoes.

I have noticed recently that if you give them a few (several) days to
finish ripening then the seeds start to germinate within the tomato.

This does suggest that they are pretty fresh and haven't been mucked about
with too much.

I think that's a case of 2 + 2 = 5. Tomato seeds are long lived.

However I haven't seen the same thing with the (I assume hydroponic)
standard tomatoes.

Is there something they do to shop tomatoes which prevent the seeds from
germinating?

I can't see how that could be done (eg by irradiation) without breaking
food laws. It is quite possible that the viability of tomato seeds
varies across varieties, but in general - as I noted above - they are
long-lived.

Cheers

Dave R

P.S. it does make me wonder if a Lidl tomato would be a better source of
germinating seeds than the average seed packet.

Depends on whether or not it was a stable F1 hybrid as to what you got
/if/ they germinated.

--

Jeff

Jeff Layman wrote:

I can't see how that could be done (eg by irradiation) without breaking
food laws.

It is legal to irradiate fruit (including tomatoes) in the UK, or import
it with suitable paperwork, but it would have to be labelled as such,
which I've never noticed.

On 21/05/16 19:54, Andy Burns wrote:
Jeff Layman wrote:

I can't see how that could be done (eg by irradiation) without breaking
food laws.

It is legal to irradiate fruit (including tomatoes) in the UK, or import
it with suitable paperwork, but it would have to be labelled as such,
which I've never noticed.

Thanks. My mistake. I've never noticed any food labelled as irradiated,
so assumed it was not approved.

--

Jeff

On 21/05/2016 10:57 PM, David wrote:

I have noticed recently that if you give them a few (several) days to
finish ripening then the seeds start to germinate within the tomato.

Am I understanding you correctly: do you mean that when you cut the
tomato open, the seeds are already starting to germinate inside the
freshly cut tomato????

On 21 May 2016 12:57:20 GMT, David wrote:

We like the big Lidl vine tomatoes because, well, they taste more or less
like proper tomatoes.

I have noticed recently that if you give them a few (several) days to
finish ripening then the seeds start to germinate within the tomato.

This does suggest that they are pretty fresh and haven't been mucked about
with too much.

However I haven't seen the same thing with the (I assume hydroponic)
standard tomatoes.

Is there something they do to shop tomatoes which prevent the seeds from
germinating?

Cheers

Dave R

P.S. it does make me wonder if a Lidl tomato would be a better source of
germinating seeds than the average seed packet.

It's not easy growing vine tomatoes from "recovered" seeds. Even in a
heated greenhouse I have had no success while the seeds I've bought
have grown outside in warm summers.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

On Sun, 22 May 2016 12:17:09 +1000, Fran Farmer wrote:

On 21/05/2016 10:57 PM, David wrote:

I have noticed recently that if you give them a few (several) days to
finish ripening then the seeds start to germinate within the tomato.

Am I understanding you correctly: do you mean that when you cut the
tomato open, the seeds are already starting to germinate inside the
freshly cut tomato????

Yes - you can see a dark spot beneath the skin of the tomato which turns
out to be the tiny green leaves on a germinating seed.

Cheers

Dave R

--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

On 22/05/2016 09:45, Chris Hogg wrote:
On 21 May 2016 12:57:20 GMT, David wrote:

We like the big Lidl vine tomatoes because, well, they taste more or less
like proper tomatoes.

I have noticed recently that if you give them a few (several) days to
finish ripening then the seeds start to germinate within the tomato.

This does suggest that they are pretty fresh and haven't been mucked about
with too much.

However I haven't seen the same thing with the (I assume hydroponic)
standard tomatoes.

Is there something they do to shop tomatoes which prevent the seeds from
germinating?

Cheers

Dave R

P.S. it does make me wonder if a Lidl tomato would be a better source of
germinating seeds than the average seed packet.

Apparently tomatoes germinating within the fruit is not uncommon
http://tinyurl.com/gvp3cok

Strange but in over half a century of growing Tomatoes(some of that time
comercialy), I have never come across this, not even with over ripe
tomatoes that had fallen.
I wonder if this is a trait amongst newer varieties?
David @ a showery side of Swansea Bay

On 21/05/2016 19:31, Jeff Layman wrote:
Depends on whether or not it was a stable F1 hybrid as to what you got
/if/ they germinated.

If you mean what I think you mean - an F1 hybrid is by definition not
stable. F1 is a first generation cross.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=710

Andy

On 22/05/16 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 21/05/2016 19:31, Jeff Layman wrote:
Depends on whether or not it was a stable F1 hybrid as to what you got
/if/ they germinated.

If you mean what I think you mean - an F1 hybrid is by definition not
stable. F1 is a first generation cross.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=710

Andy

I must have had F1 on my mind for some reason! I was looking he
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid...pes_of_hybrids
and somehow I added the F1 to the "Stable hybrid" explanation.

--

Jeff

On 22/05/2016 11:32 PM, David wrote:
On Sun, 22 May 2016 12:17:09 +1000, Fran Farmer wrote:

On 21/05/2016 10:57 PM, David wrote:

I have noticed recently that if you give them a few (several) days to
finish ripening then the seeds start to germinate within the tomato.

Am I understanding you correctly: do you mean that when you cut the
tomato open, the seeds are already starting to germinate inside the
freshly cut tomato????

Yes - you can see a dark spot beneath the skin of the tomato which turns
out to be the tiny green leaves on a germinating seed.

Thank you David. I've not come across that happening before.

Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
It's not easy growing vine tomatoes from "recovered" seeds. Even in a
heated greenhouse I have had no success while the seeds I've bought
have grown outside in warm summers.

I had few tesco vine tomatoes which hung around for at least a week or
so earlier this year and started to germinate. Out of curiousity,
I planted about 8 of the germinating seeds from them - plants now vary
from 1cm high to a good 40cm after a month or two. It remains to be
seen whether they produce any tomatoes, but I was expect much less
from them.

#Paul