Growing Tomatoes from Cuttings

[Whistlebritche]

I have a couple varieties I'd really like to take into fall.One is from an Early Girl plant that is now over 5 feet tall and loaded.I'd like to try a dry farm method this fall,using as little water as possible til she blooms.I could transplant as late as the middle of august but would prefer the 1st.

The other I haven't decided.....either Better Boy or Celebrity.I have zero complaints with ether.

Any comments welcome..........but the best methods of doing this is what I'm looking for.North Texas......7B

[weaselbean]

I just rooted a Cherokee purple a few weeks ago. 3 weeks from cutting it was planted out.

Put moistened starting mix in a solo cup. Cut off a sucker about 3" or longer and stick in the cup. Water it well and put in the shade for a few days. Put mine in the house. You'll see when it perks up and starts growing. In 3 weeks the solo cup was full of roots. Never had one not to root. Good luck.

[Worth1]

Same thing but use clear cup.
Worth

[bigpinks]

I grow a few every yr this way for a few Oct-Nov tomatoes. Use the 20gal totes and a quasi 5-1-1 mix.

[bigpinks]

Suckered the first two rows just now and was surprised to find lots of pea sized fruit. Plants were set out Apr 30 so I guess its time but two days ago there were none. Wonder if the minus 10 degree temp avg for May slowed them down? Local weather says cool 70s for next week. Unbelievable. One May about ten yrs back we had something like twelve or thirteen 90 degrees days in May. Weather is like Forrest's box of chocolates...you never know what you might get.

[ScottinAtlanta]

I do this with Sungolds all season long, and keep replanting as plants go down. Very easy and fast way to keep your re supply going.

[bigpinks]

Wouldn't have to do this if not for the early blight but my garden is decimated by Sept and late tomatoes in conts is a necessity

[Worth1]

I have a stray sungold branch I need to do this with and plant it some place else.
Also thinking about starting some Galina's seeds this weekend.
Worth

[Whistlebritche]

Originally Posted by weaselbean

I just rooted a Cherokee purple a few weeks ago. 3 weeks from cutting it was planted out.

Put moistened starting mix in a solo cup. Cut off a sucker about 3" or longer and stick in the cup. Water it well and put in the shade for a few days. Put mine in the house. You'll see when it perks up and starts growing. In 3 weeks the solo cup was full of roots. Never had one not to root. Good luck.

Thanks........exactly what I was looking for

[Whistlebritche]

Thanks to all .............my Early Girl idea is due to the sometimes brutal heat in Northwest Texas in August.The EG makes fruit in under 60 days.......even with an early frost I should get plenty of ripe maters and have enough green to make a big batch of chow chow.Any other ideas?

[Gardeneer]

I am going to do this too for fall planting.
I have done it before this season and years past.
You have to keep the potted cutting in indirect light until it roots, then harden it off.
This is much faster than growing from seed.
Make sure the potting mix has right amount of moisture retention and drainage and it is kept most evenly.

[Hudson_WY]

We root cutting every year through the season. Either family/neighbors will want a start or we will plant a start from cuttings in July or August.

We just put the cutting in a 4" pot of potting mix and water it every day. We keep the the cuttings in the shade in a cool spot in the GH for a couple of weeks until they start to root before we leave them in direct sun. we usually have 100% success when rooting a tomato cutting.

[oakley]

Looks good Hudson. Pics always help in a tutorial way...showing how they droop for a
few days. I have a few like that now. And a few i just stuck in water that rooted over the past week on the kitchen high counter.

@Whistleb, if your plants are full with lots of 6-8 inch suckers, start more than you will
need for insurance. I rarely get 100%, but close.

Clear cups are nice so you can watch root development. I've used those in the past.

Mine are inside as the night temps are still cool. 45-50. I should try both...set a few out
in some shade. (i just started planting out this past weekend and have room for more)
...so cloning is a fast way to do that.

[Dewayne mater]

The suckering method will work in N. Texas. My wife's grandmother wrote an article that Better Homes and Gardens published in the 50s describing pretty much what has been said here and she lived on the M streets in Dallas. Sadly, she passed shortly before I started tomato gardening. What a wealth of information lost!

The only thing to be cautious of is trying to root a plant that has disease or bad insect infestation. If you are able to keep your plants healthy enough for healthy sucker rooting, then go for it. Please report back for how it works out!

[swellcat]

It's the tomato version of black magic.