Tomato Plant Grafting, Update. And Tomato Cuttings. 4.22.16

Better Boy Tomato Graft, on SuperNatural Root Stock.  4.22.16

Now the grafted tomatoes are out of the humidity chamber.  Only two of the six, survived.  The reason was not the technique, but my anxiety.  I took them out of the chamber too soon.  The leaves wilted, in some cases not recoverable.

The two that survived are Better Boy and SuperSweet 100.  The Better Boy looks especially good.

Meanwhile, I had kept a few of the tops of the rootstocks, by placing them in a cup of water, and kept on window sill.  Those cuttings grew nice roots in the water.  I also had a Better Boy that I accidentally decapitated, and am rooting that as well.

This can be a way to increase the number of tomato plants in a vegetable garden.  If there are lower branches, cut those off and root in water for planting back in the tomato patch.  Doing so means free plants.

I still have some plants for scion, mainly Roma.  Those will be next.  Romas are great cooking tomatoes, but in my garden the plants tend to be smaller compared to other types.  Maybe grafted plants will be more vigorous. 

First Attempt at Grafting Tomatoes.  One Week.  4.22.16

Tomato Cuttings in Water at One Week.  4.22.16

Tomato Cutting Rooted in Water.  4.22.16

I trimmed the wilting leaves from the grafted SuperSweet 100.  Maybe that will give it a better chance to take off and grow.

Actually I'm pretty happy that even one, and maybe two, took off and are growing.  Now they should grow quite fast.  Even ungrafted tomatoes grow fast at this stage.