Grafting Tomatos

Free for all about gardening techniques, tips and questions.
User avatar
Volvo
Reactions:
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2020 7:38 pm

Grafting Tomatos

#1

Post: # 27064Unread post Volvo
Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:56 pm

Who has done it ??, Reason and advantages of doing so please ..
Was thinking of trying on a larger Tomato busgh see how many varieties can be grafted onto one bush and if this is possible ??..
Peter

User avatar
Shule
Reactions:
Posts: 2729
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 3:29 pm
Location: SW Idaho, USA

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#2

Post: # 27068Unread post Shule
Sat Aug 01, 2020 3:35 am

I've never grafted a tomato. However, businesses sometimes sell grafted plants for added disease resistance and stuff. They graft those as seedlings, I believe. You don't want to bury those below the grafted point, though, or they can still get the diseases easily.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

User avatar
Shule
Reactions:
Posts: 2729
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 3:29 pm
Location: SW Idaho, USA

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#3

Post: # 27069Unread post Shule
Sat Aug 01, 2020 3:40 am

You could maybe graft a tomato onto a goji berry rootstock, or vice versa. If they can hybridize (there's a rumor that they can), I don't see why you couldn't graft them.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

slugworth
Reactions:
Posts: 1966
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:35 am
Location: Connecticut

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#4

Post: # 27070Unread post slugworth
Sat Aug 01, 2020 5:21 am

I never had luck grafting and never saw any advantage to pricey store bought grafted plants.
They actually did worse than regular plants right next to them.
I made many attempts with the tomato/potato graft.
And regular tomato onto an indigo blue rootstock.
"A chiseled face,Just like Easter Island" :lol:

User avatar
Shule
Reactions:
Posts: 2729
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 3:29 pm
Location: SW Idaho, USA

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#5

Post: # 27111Unread post Shule
Sat Aug 01, 2020 4:46 pm

[mention]slugworth[/mention]
That reminds me of how my OP plants usually outdo my commercial F1 hybrids.

How much do grafted plants cost? I've never actually seen one for sale locally.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

User avatar
Whwoz
Reactions:
Posts: 2462
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 12:08 am
Location: Trafalgar, Victoria, Australia

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#6

Post: # 27117Unread post Whwoz
Sat Aug 01, 2020 5:24 pm

Volvo, the main reason for grafting tomatoes is for disease resistance where soil borne diseases are an issue. As for grafting multiple varieties onto one plant, so no reason why it cannot be done. Indeed if I recall correctly, someone over on TV had a thread about their grafting experience doing just that.

slugworth
Reactions:
Posts: 1966
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:35 am
Location: Connecticut

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#7

Post: # 27120Unread post slugworth
Sat Aug 01, 2020 5:43 pm

$10 each,but that was before covid price.
One year all my heirloom plants did better than hybrid.
"A chiseled face,Just like Easter Island" :lol:

User avatar
Whwoz
Reactions:
Posts: 2462
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 12:08 am
Location: Trafalgar, Victoria, Australia

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#8

Post: # 27124Unread post Whwoz
Sat Aug 01, 2020 5:52 pm

The thread that I was thinking of Volvo

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t ... t=Grafting

User avatar
Volvo
Reactions:
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2020 7:38 pm

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#9

Post: # 27126Unread post Volvo
Sat Aug 01, 2020 6:29 pm

Whwoz that was the main reason for wanting to do it incase these pesky Nematodes do a show up again , plus just interested to see the outcome .
Ordered some grafting clips online and if by chance i have any room left over after this Spring plant tryout will give it a go.
Slugworth that indigo plant you mentioned was what i was thinking of as a tryout..

User avatar
Volvo
Reactions:
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2020 7:38 pm

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#10

Post: # 27128Unread post Volvo
Sat Aug 01, 2020 7:06 pm

Just need to do more research:)..

User avatar
Volvo
Reactions:
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2020 7:38 pm

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#11

Post: # 27129Unread post Volvo
Sat Aug 01, 2020 7:10 pm

Whwoz wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2020 5:52 pm The thread that I was thinking of Volvo

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t ... t=Grafting
Very Interesting and gives me hope :)..

User avatar
Rockoe10
Reactions:
Posts: 556
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:36 am

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#12

Post: # 39949Unread post Rockoe10
Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:48 am

I did my first graft 3 days ago and its a success thus far!

I used Nectar from Parks seed company and Sungold Select from Wild Boar Farms. These aren't the plants I want as the final transplant, but rather are the only plants I have at the moment.

My method included:

Taking two small cuttings from the mother plants. I used the Nectar as the scion and kept the grow tip in tact with just the bud of two leaves showing. All other leaves were removed.

The cutting from the Sungold Select was slightly thicker and used as the root stock. I removed all leaves and was left with a two inch long 'stick'.

I used the cleft grafting method and Super Glued the cuttings together. Also, this is a rootless graft (aka Stent Graft) and thus needed to make roots as well as heal from the grafting. The rootstock and attached scion were placed into a cup of tap water with the water line below the graft. It was left open without a cover and placed in indirect sunlight for 12 hours. The scion showed heavy drooping but was still very much green.

A small pot with miracle grow potting mix was made up and watered well. The rootstock was buried with the graft just above the soil line. A plastic bag was placed over the pot and sealed with a tight rubber band. A pencil was used to keep the bag off the scion's growing tip.

The scion perked up within the day and is looking great! This tells me the scion must be getting water via the rootstock.

A couple more days and ill check for roots on the rootstock. And hope for continued growth of the scion.
20210202_113320.jpg
20210202_113334.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
- - - - - - - -
Rob, ZONE 6A with 170 days between frost dates, Western Pennsylvania

mama_lor
Reactions:
Posts: 226
Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:44 am

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#13

Post: # 39999Unread post mama_lor
Wed Feb 03, 2021 4:57 am

Good test. I think you can leave a bit more leaf area on the scion. Are you going to graft cuttings as well as final graft or seedlings?
The biggest problem with grafting is that those rootstock seeds are so damn expensive. You need to buy by the hundred to be anywhere near reasonable priced per seed, so not many people are going to give it a try.

User avatar
Rockoe10
Reactions:
Posts: 556
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:36 am

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#14

Post: # 40007Unread post Rockoe10
Wed Feb 03, 2021 7:18 am

So this was merely to practice. I have Rootstock seed and plan to use it in the next month, but i didn't want to waste, as you say, such as expensive plant.

My hope with using the Stent Method is i can get multiple grafts using one seed. And in addition, I'll be saving seeds to experiment with in future Fn generations of Rootstock. So if this works as well as it has thus far, I'll continue to use the Stent Method.

PS
I'll also be testing in later trials, how well these grafts will take if no grow tip is kept in the scion. I can already see two suckers forming on the nodes of the scion, and it's only been 4 days and some hours since the graft was made. If it works, then I can get several grafts not only from the Rootstock mother plant, but also from the scion's mother plant too. Using just a single stem!
- - - - - - - -
Rob, ZONE 6A with 170 days between frost dates, Western Pennsylvania

User avatar
pepperhead212
Reactions:
Posts: 3105
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:07 am
Location: Woodbury, NJ

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#15

Post: # 40027Unread post pepperhead212
Wed Feb 03, 2021 1:52 pm

I tried this once, with no success. However, I have since read that tomatoes are sometimes grafted onto eggplant rootstock, and I'm thinking of trying this, just to see! The Hari eggplants are what I'm thinking of using, partly because I got about a half tsp of seeds in the new packet, plus they are almost always the most heavily rooted when I dig things out (they will not pull out!) in the fall.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

mama_lor
Reactions:
Posts: 226
Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:44 am

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#16

Post: # 40063Unread post mama_lor
Thu Feb 04, 2021 2:33 am

Eggplant has more thick deep roots, in comparison with more and finer roots of the tomato. How is that Hari egplant, never heard of it.

User avatar
Harry Cabluck
Reactions:
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:40 pm
Location: Austin, Texas

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#17

Post: # 40126Unread post Harry Cabluck
Thu Feb 04, 2021 9:06 pm

Grafted in cups sq.jpg
Volvo: Note what Whwoz says earlier about grafting to hardy rootstock. It is to thwart root knot nematodes and soil borne diseases. Hardy rootstock, like Maxifort and others, are worth the cost. Also, the hardy rootstock allows one to grow more successfully heirlooms in the Texas heat. There are YouTube videos that demonstrate several grafting methods. Placing the grafted plants in a dark healing chamber for a few days pays dividends.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Refrain from calculating the total number of poultry...before the process of incubation has fully materialized.

User avatar
pepperhead212
Reactions:
Posts: 3105
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:07 am
Location: Woodbury, NJ

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#18

Post: # 40199Unread post pepperhead212
Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:11 pm

mama_lor wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 2:33 am Eggplant has more thick deep roots, in comparison with more and finer roots of the tomato. How is that Hari egplant, never heard of it.
The Hari is an Indian eggplant that I got seeds for a number of years ago. It is a long, skinny, green eggplant, like a number of others I've tried, but those were always very late, and not as heat resistant (who would think a variety from Louisiana wouldn't be heat resistant? lol), and not as productive. This is always the second one to produce for me, after Ichiban and not at all bitter, even when I'd leave it on too long, and it gets seedy. One season, all of my other 6 varieties stopped producing, due to heat, but not hari! And one grew taller than me one season - over 78"! Here's a 1 day harvest from 2 plants, a few years ago:
ImageDSCF0258 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's where I found the seeds:
https://www.seedsofindia.com/item/Eggplant-Hari-27

One person I shared them with saved the seeds - even though labeled F1, I doubted that, because I'd get close to a tsp in a packet! She said that they seemed to be the same, when she used the saved seeds.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

User avatar
Cole_Robbie
Reactions:
Posts: 1432
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:58 pm

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#19

Post: # 40220Unread post Cole_Robbie
Fri Feb 05, 2021 8:10 pm

My one attempt at grafting did well for about a week, then I cracked the lid open on the tub they were in and they were all dead the next time I looked at them. Adjusting them to lower humidity and higher light is apparently a sensitive endeavour.

One thing that did work well was using a razor blade to make the cuts. I held it with some needle nose pliers.

User avatar
Rockoe10
Reactions:
Posts: 556
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:36 am

Re: Grafting Tomatos

#20

Post: # 40264Unread post Rockoe10
Sat Feb 06, 2021 11:57 am

So that is what just happened to mine. Was fine until i took off the cover.

I'll be making more attempts to practice on and won't be taking the cover off for much longer
- - - - - - - -
Rob, ZONE 6A with 170 days between frost dates, Western Pennsylvania

Post Reply

Return to “General Discussion”