Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesL
Yes, looks like spring is finally arriving!
Elliot,
How many plants do you typically grow? I am all of 10 to 15 minutes west of you and I will definitely have extras. Might even have some grafted plants for you, presuming some survive my butchery.
Will have Camo to thank for that, as he is the one that got me interested in grafting last summer.
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JamesL,
All thanks should really go to Dana, (of Dana's Dusky Rose fame), who gifted me my German Johnson-Benton Strain grafted to maxifort root stock. I really had little interest in grafted plants until I grew the grafted plant next to the same variety from seed.
The difference between the two was nothing short of phenomenal. I always thought grafting to other rootstocks was primarily for those with disease problems or other growing problems which I didn't face.
Now my mindset is changed as that grafted plant, (which was a real runt compared to others in the garden), quickly surpassed everything else including the same variety which had been started from seed. Not only did it produce much larger tomatoes...it produced much more and they tasted much better than anything else in the gardens last year.
The German Johnson-Benton strain from seed had some larger fruits that tasted almost as good, but the per centage of really large tomatoes overall was certainly less as was total production.
Must mention that 2011's number one tomato, Purple Dog Creek was number 3 in 2012 behind the two different German Johnson's- Benton Strain and their taste was up there with the Benton's but production didn't come close.
This year I plan to try seed from both the grafted plant and the grown from seed to see if there's any difference, also hope to pick up another grafted plant from Dana, hopefully of a few different of my favorite Brandywine's also.
Good luck with yours and Enjoy!
Camo