Monthly Archives: April 2010

It has been a couple of days since my last update on the tomato cuttings tests. So, I thought I would give you a quick update.

On April 28th, I took a comparative picture of the two tests. Tomato cutting 1 is the one in the water with Willow cuttings. Tomato cutting 2 is the one out of the rooting chamber.

Both Tomato Cuttings April 28th

As you can see, the cutting on the left side is cutting 2 and on the right, in the water, is cutting 1. Cutting 2 is beginning to develop roots under the stem surface, however cutting 1 has many emerged roots showing.

Now this AM (April 30, 2010) I took another comparative picture of both Tomato Cuttings. Tomato cutting 1 is on the left and tomato cutting 2 is on the right.

both Tomato Cuttings April 30th

Tomato Cutting 1 April 30th

Tomato Cutting 2 April 30th

As you can see, Tomato cutting 1 has significantly longer and more roots than Tomato cutting 2. It’s clear that the Willow cuttings have helped to decrease the rooting time frame on these cuttings. It also appears that the root system on cutting 1 is far stronger than on cutting 2.

April 21st, took tomato cuttings. As of April 27th, the rooting chamber cutting has simply turned toward the top, but no sign of roots yet. However, the cutting in water, with the Willow cuttings accompanying it, is looking quite positive. We are at 6 days and roots appear to be forming.

The below image is the very image (zoomed in) from my 4-23 post. The shiny spots on the stem are air bubbles.

Tomato Cutting 1 4-21-10

This AM I took the below picture. I would have to say the Willow is really helping those roots form. I'll post again when they pop through. No air bubbles left, but there sure are non shiny white spots

Tomato Cutting 1 4-27-10

As you may have noticed, my larger tomatoes are currently in white buckets. Well there is a reason for this. Not only did I need to give them plenty of growing room in the greenhouse, but we’re due to move, to a new house, soon and I didn’t want to begin them in the ground.

Well, what can we do to help those poor plants along? I came up with an idea that may just boost them along. Not that they really need it, but I love to see my plants THRIVE!

First I created a collar, from a plastic 2 liter pop bottle, by cutting the top and bottom of the bottle off.

Then, I sliced down the side vertically in order to be able to wrap it around the tomato plant.

At that point, I clipped off all of the tomato branches, below the height of where the top of the collar would be, once wrapped around the stem. Then I placed it around the stem of the tomato plant and used 2 inch packaging tape to taped it together, back to its original shape.

After placing the collar, I used a good rich mix of composted horse manure and Sphagnum to fill in the collar around the stem of the tomato. This should give the tomato plant an even healthier root system, thus creating a healthier, and more sturdy plant with more tomatoes.

I’ll keep you updated on the growth and pics of when I see roots growing.

Soil Collar

A quick update on my tomato cuttings: They are now potted up and ready to grow. Below are some pictures of the nicely started root system. As you can see, the growth is very rapid when you compare the images from April 20th to the ones taken this morning. They will continue to get root nodes up the stem, so I’ve buried the stem as far up as I could to create a nice healthy root system.

After finding so many new roots starting on my cuttings from the 9th, I thought I would try working two methods at the same time, in order to compare the results.

So here’s what I have going so far. I took two lower sucker cuttings from my Cherokee Chocolate tomato plant. It’s nearly 5 feet tall now, so there are many suckers coming out. Anyway, I clipped the two suckers and clipped all but the top leaves off. At that point, I took 3 cuttings from a Corkscrew Willow and stripped all lower leaves from the stems. Those branches were placed in the jar and will accompany one of the tomato suckers. As you may recall, I posted that Willows contain a natural rooting hormone and aid in the root growth on other items in the same water.

For the second tomato sucker cutting, again, I removed all but the top leaves and placed it in the small rooting chamber. This is the very box that grew roots on my last cuttings in 11 days. So we shall see which get roots more quickly.

I’ll post my findings as soon as I have data.

So if you're interested in trying some rooting experiments yourself, this easy little box will do the trick for you. It's not expensive to make, probably about $6-$10 depending on where you purchase the items for it, but it will create far more plants with no further expense.

There have been many variations of this little guy, but regardless, it's easy and it works. After experimenting around with different soil/soil less mixes, I've found the mix listed here to be the best for rooting.

What you’ll need…

• Clear Plastic container with lid – About $3-4 at your local Dept Store. I purchased the tall one, it's about 10-12 inches deep.
• Non Sealed / Non Painted terra cotta pot – About $1 at your local Dept Store.
• Cork or Silicone Caulking
• Sphagnum / Peat
• Vermiculite
• Perlite

Make sure you have plenty of height in your clear container, cause some cuttings need 6-8 inches in height, and the more space for circulation, the better.

Items Needed

If the cork you have is too large, it can be cut down with a knife or scissors, in order to fit tightly into the hole in the bottom of the terra cotta pot. As I did, you can seal around the cork, with silicone, if it leaks when you add water. Another method is to simply fill the hole with silicone and allow it to set up.

Terra Cotta Pot With Cork

Place the terra cotta pot in the center of your box. Use a 3:1 ratio of Sphagnum/Vermiculite mix and place about 2-3 inches around the pot and smooth the mix out around the bottom of the box. The best filler is fluffy because it enables the roots to form more easily with space to grow. After a number of tests, the more dense the mixture, without air pockets, the less success in rooting. This is the exact reason I began using Sphagnum and Vermiculite.

Terra Cotta pot in Box

Cover the top of the Sphagnum mix with about .5-1 inch of Perlite. Smooth out so the top is fairly level.

Fill the pot with water and this will gradually seep through the terra cotta sides and water the rooting mix in the plastic box. As you add your cuttings, be sure to cover completely with the lid. This will keep the moisture inside the box and the plants will only use what they need.

Perlite Over The Top

On April 9th, I took cuttings from my Cherokee Chocolate tomato. The very pictures I posted on April 15th. Today was the first day I checked on the status in my rooting chamber and guess what……

Are you ready?

ROOTS!!!! That’s right only 11 days and roots are already forming. Not to mention, the rooted cuttings are larger than what the local nurseries are selling for seedlings. Though the pictures aren't that great, you can clearly see little white roots growing at the bottom of the stem. I'll add better pictures later, but I had to share this.

I can absolutely see that one plant wintered over, of each variety you want to keep growing, will give you as many plants as you would like for your garden. Unless unforeseen circumstances – and things can happen – harm the cuttings over the winter, I can’t see growing varieties I currently have growing, from seed. Only new varieties will be on my list of grown out seeds next year. What a wonderful method of keeping these babies going.

On another note, with a few extra steps, you can actually have tomatoes in your greenhouse all year long!

I'm sure you have heard many methods on extending your growing season, but this one really works!

First of all, the soil, outside, needs to be warm in order to direct sow seeds and many types of vegetables require direct sowing. Another point to keep in mind is that many tender plants need the soil warm in order to transplant them outdoors. So our focus is going to be warming the soil.

In our zone, our typical last frost day is April 15th, however we've been known to have many frosts up until late May and sometimes into June. What does this mean? Well we need to take precautions, in order to keep those seeds and transplants happy.

If you're like me, you have a nice selection of tomato plants in your garden. So we’ll be using tomato cages later in the season, so why not give them another use? I’m sure you’ve heard of the Wall-O-Water, but this is even better! We're going to use our homemade wall o water!

Corners Burned off With Sealer

Invert your tomato cage and place (upside down) over the space you are trying to heat the soil in. Note: If placing over plants, be sure to stake down the tomato cage so it won’t tip in the wind and possibly break off your tender transplant.

Once the tomato cage is in place, take the bag and with the folded side down, drape it over the inverted tomato cage. What you will be doing is creating a small greenhouse over your soil area. Take the plastic all the way down to the ground. This will cause the spike ends of the tomato cage to poke through the closed end of the plastic bag. It will also keep the plastic bag from slipping down toward the ground. Be sure to tear open the area between the wire posts. This will create a vent to allow excess heat out and not bake your transplants. Once the bag is covering the tomato cage, begin filling the sealed portion with water. When the sun shines on it in the daylight hours, it will heat up and will keep from freezing during the night and will hold the heat in.

Filled Water Wall

Keep the cage on for a couple of weeks prior to planting. Replace the cage once you plant your transplants or seeds.

Happy Planting

This is so exciting!! I just had to post a pic of my baby tomato…

After arriving back home from a long day of moving furniture, yesterday, I checked my greenhouse. One of my Cherokee Chocolate blossoms had fallen off. Wondering if that was a good thing or a bad thing…It’s A GOOD THING! There it was, pristine and precious at the same time, my wonderful first tomato of the year. Yeah it’s only about a quarter of an inch in size, but it will grow lol. Amazingly, the very first blossom set fruit, so they are definitely enjoying the warmth and moisture of the greenhouse.

Cherokee Chocolate Tomato

I can see it now, I’ll be checking the growth on that baby every day to see just how much it increases per day. So it’s a count down…I’m still in the running for a June tomato! Maybe even sooner.

I’ll post periodic pictures…lol I won’t post and bore you with the day to day growth.

It’s time to start getting those seedlings ready for transplanting. In case you weren’t aware, tomatoes need to have special treatment in order to be placed out in the elements. This is called hardening off. It takes about a week to do, so be sure to check when your last frost date is and count back a week.

I would also recommend, even if you are past your last frost date, give your plants a little needed time with a home crafted greenhouse over them, or a wall o water. Just be sure to open the top of your home crafted one so you don’t cook your plants. You will reap the rewards of your labors in the end.

Okay, let's get started. Place your potted tomatoes in a tray. I say this because it makes it so much easier to transport them, if you have any amount of them. Otherwise just take them outside during the day. Don’t put them in full sun for the entire day, morning sun is great and gradually increase this each day. Be sure to bring the plants back in at night. You’ll need to repeat this each day for 7 days. After 7 days, your plants are ready to be transplanted into the garden.