View Single Post
Old January 19, 2017   #13
b54red
Tomatovillian™
 
b54red's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by txtstorm View Post
Bill, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to post this. I really do appreciate all of the instruction and I'm going to give your method a go.

For this new batch of seeds I planted in DE (not sure of the size...but cat litter size), which is the 'floor dri' from NAPA auto parts. I went to half a dozen places before I found it, so different grades aren't easy to come by in my area. Autozone and O'Reilly's only had montmorillonite clay. Anyway, my first round of grafting was done with extra grow plugs I had. I'm sure that was part of the problem. After using the DE, I see why it's so useful. The stuff stays moist for days.

I think another thing I did wrong was to graft too early. I've got 1.5mm silicone tube clips. The stems were technically the right size, but the clips didn't hold them well. I let some plants grow a bit and tried larger stems and it seemed to hold better. Is there a size that you tend to aim for? I've read that the 3-4 leaf stage is appropriate. I was there, but the stems were still small.

You mentioned misting the lid. Does this ever cause problems with dripping onto the plants and breaking the graft union? I noticed this was happening to my plants in the aquarium. My meter was reading 95% humidity and the condensation on the lid was dripping onto the plants. I thought about making some kind of 'tent' to keep the condensation off. I like your idea of clipping the leaves. I thought of doing this at first, but all of the videos I had watch had leafy scions. Your way makes more sense.

If I may ask, about what temperature do you think your plants graft best at? I keep reading that 80-85F is optimal. You have success at room temp (70ish), yes?

Also, how long would you say it takes from the day you make the grafts to the day the plants are ready for the garden (generally, ballpark)?

I thank you again, Bill. I really want to learn to do this and I'm willing to keep failing until I do.

Cheers,

Adam
Adam, the coarse DE that I use is probably available other places but O'Reillys usually has it on hand but it can be ordered. Just ask them to get you a bag of it. Here is the catalogue link to the specific one I use. I think all the others they sell are of a finer grain.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...and+Search_MTA

The dripping from the top is probably from too much moisture in the cups the grafts are in and that is probably causing the separation also. That is why I pull off most of the roots of the root stock and let the coarse grain DE drain after charging it with a mild liquid fertilizer before planting the graft in it. It also helps if the root stock has not been over watered. That is why it is best to not water them for a day or two before grafting. The reverse is true for the scion which needs to be well watered not too long before grafting.

I always order a selection of silicon grafting clips from 1.5mm to 3mm. Grafting with the very small clips is difficult for me but I sometimes use them early on but the most common size I use is 2mm or 2.5mm followed by 3mm size. Here is a link to the site that I have found to be the most economical but then I do a lot of grafting. The larger 3+ sizes are not for tomato grafting
https://hydro-gardens.com/?s=tomato+grafting+clips

As to the best temperature I only know that too cold or too hot is not good. I find that setting the chambers in the house works really good but they don't get as much light and after 3 or 4 days I move them into the greenhouse or onto my screened back porch. I do know that my success rate usually falls some in the summer heat and I'm pretty sure it is because the chambers get too hot. It seems that if I am comfortable the plants in the healing chamber seem to do okay.

Bill
b54red is offline   Reply With Quote