Saving seeds from one tomato vs. another

enchant · August 7, 2014

I was having a couple beers with my brother the other night. He also grows tomatoes, although he grows strictly from flats purchased at a nursery, whereas I've recently started growing from seeds purchased mail order.

I brought over one of my larger, more splendid Brandywines, which really impressed him. "They all coming in that big?" "No, this is one of the biggest."

He told me that I should save the seeds from this specific tomato and plant only those next year, and that would give me plants with big tomatoes. I'm no botanist, but I can't believe it works that way. I'd think that if a plant produces small tomatoes and large tomatoes, the seeds from one shouldn't produce offspring that are substantially different from those from another.

Am I wrong about this? I bought a packet of 250 Brandywine seeds, and I have 244 left. Is there any reason I should be saving seeds from any of these tomatoes?

August 7, 2014	#1
enchant Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 142	Saving seeds from one tomato vs. another I was having a couple beers with my brother the other night. He also grows tomatoes, although he grows strictly from flats purchased at a nursery, whereas I've recently started growing from seeds purchased mail order. I brought over one of my larger, more splendid Brandywines, which really impressed him. "They all coming in that big?" "No, this is one of the biggest." He told me that I should save the seeds from this specific tomato and plant only those next year, and that would give me plants with big tomatoes. I'm no botanist, but I can't believe it works that way. I'd think that if a plant produces small tomatoes and large tomatoes, the seeds from one shouldn't produce offspring that are substantially different from those from another. Am I wrong about this? I bought a packet of 250 Brandywine seeds, and I have 244 left. Is there any reason I should be saving seeds from any of these tomatoes?