This is an entry in this month’s contest “How To Grow Tomatoes; Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials”. A big reason for this contest is to have a living resource of information we can all reference in the future. Be sure to rate this article – your vote is important!
If you are as cash-strapped as I am, this may be of interest to you: when you start pruning your tomatoes of their suckers, take the largest of the prunings – at least a three-inch piece, remove most of the bottom leaves, leaving the topmost four or five leaflets. Root the piece in a small jar of water, or place in favorite rooting medium. Place in a bright spot for 6 weeks or until roots develop, and pot up. Keep indoors over Winter- watering occasionally.Plant out in the Spring. When it comes time to remove it’s suckers,you take the largest sucker and root it..Voila! Free tomato plants! The way I see it, you could keep a favorite tomato variety growing indefinitely – and all for free!
Hope this will be of some practical use to someone!
We are giving away five prizes this month! Winners get to pick one of the following; a copy of the “Grow Your Own Groceries” video set, or a copy of the “Alternatives To Dentists” video set, or 3 months of free membership in the Core Community. If you want to enter this month’s contest click here: http://growyourowngroceries.org/contribute-here/
COMMENTS(0)
Sounds like an excellent idea for the Southern United States, but here in Canada, where our winters are very long, growing a tomato plant indoors over the period from October to May (date of last frost) would result in weak and straggly plants.
Hi David,
That is a good point for those in the northern bio regions.
I have also tried laying a tomato plant on its side and burying its main stem in the soil. Roots will grow along the stem, and the side shoots sticking up out of the dirt will grow up into new plants.
My greatest challenge with overwintering tomato plants has been giving them sufficient light and heat to make them last through our long, cold winters.
Some other tender plants can also be brought inside to extend their season. This past winter I managed to keep alive a few celery plants that got off to a slow start last summer, and am waiting to see how well they will do outside this year. If I only pick a stalk or two off each one as I need it, the plants keep growing. I think this should work for almost any vegetable of which we only eat the leaves or stems.