Let's see those '11 gardens!

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by jjirons69

Heirlooms don't cross-pollinate retaining specific seeds is quite easy. I ran into some really good tomatoes!

Jamie, I have never heard or read the bold text above. I do know that tomatoes are self pollinating, but they can still cross pollinate should a bee, butterfly, etc fly onto one and then another variety.

[jjirons69]

Originally Posted by wayner123

Jamie, I have never heard or read the bold text above. I do know that tomatoes are self pollinating, but they can still cross pollinate should a bee, butterfly, etc fly onto one and then another variety.

That is true, Wayne. Tomatoes are most likely to self-pollinate before cross-pollinating - most blooms will have self-pollinated themselves before they even open. I think the rate is something like 5% or less, with even lower percentages given space between plants and lower numbers of different varieties. Most of us home gardeners don't bag our open-pollination blossoms to prevent crossing. IMHO, I would suspect the rates are less than 5% for most of us. Sorry for the confusion.