Tomatoes such as cherry tomatoes are among the easier and healthier plants to grow from seed. Whether you’re growing determinate or indeterminate varieties they tend to always bear fruit making tomatoes a great beginner gardener choices.
All About Propagating, Planting, And Pruning Tomato Plants
However, if you want to increase the number of tomato plants and fruit production in your garden to have a better harvest, you don’t have to start them from seed.
You can propagate indeterminate tomato plants very easily with the help of existing ones in your garden, such as heirloom tomatoes.
Today, we’ll be talking about how to propagate tomato cuttings from young plants whether determinate or indeterminate tomato varieties such as bush tomatoes using stem cuttings. Let’s go!
What You’ll Need
You only need a few things to start propagating tomato plants. This includes a good pair of sharp pruning shears, small jars, and some water for rooting tomato cuttings.
Make sure the shears you’ll use are sharp so you can make clean cuts. It’s also a good idea to sterilize them with boiling water, hydrogen peroxide, or bleach solution before you prune tomato plants.
This helps kill any bacteria or fungi that may be present on your shears. This way, you can prune tomatoes with no problem without spreading fungal diseases, especially from tomato diseases.
If you don’t want to root your cuttings in a jar of water, be sure to prepare some seed raising mix as well as some containers where you can place the cuttings.
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How To Take A Tomato Cutting
The best time to take cuttings from the pruned plant for propagating indeterminate tomatoes is between May and June when the tomato plants need to be pruned to encourage more growth to produce fruit on the main stem of the plant.
Not only are you able to keep your existing indeterminate plants healthy, but you can also grow more tomato plants and new fruit from the leaf branches and stems you’ve pruned.
When taking cuttings from tomato plant pruning to make new plants, look for the tomato plant suckers. When you look at the plants near the top, locate two branches that form a fork.
The third stem growing between the fork is either little suckers or larger suckers also called side shoots, that’s what you want to remove.
Cut the tomato suckers or side stems off with your simple pruning shears to get a clean cut making sure that you have a length of 4 or more inches.
Remove the lower leaves at the bottom of the plant while leaving at least two sets at the top of the plant.
Repeat identifying new suckers, prune suckers, and remove top and bottom leaves from your different types of tomatoes, such as green tomatoes as necessary.
How To Root Tomato Cuttings
After collecting your cuttings, you’re ready to start rooting them. Fill a jar or similar container with a quarter cup of water. Put the tomato cuttings in the jar.
Keep the jar in a warm place like a countertop or windowsill. If the water level goes down, you can add more water.
It will take about a week for new roots to form. Now you‘re one step closer to the production of fruit.
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Transplanting Tomato Cuttings
Once your tomato cuttings from the small shoots have formed roots, you can transplant the type of tomato plant you have directly into the soil or in containers where it will get adequate sunlight.
If you’re going to replant it in the vegetable garden, wait until the day is cooler like early evening or an overcast day, to reduce the plant shock. In no time you’ll have new growth and they’ll be developing fruit.
Other than tomato plants, are there any plants that you have propagated to grow your garden bed?
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