More Tomatoes Please!

Extending The Season #1

The last of the yellow pear tomatoes are ripening and the vines are fading quickly. The reality of sweet flavorful home grown tomatoes is wilting with the vines due to extreme summer heat and varying amount of rain. A quick look at the anemic pale tomatoes in the store selling for three dollars a pound tugs on the wallet and dries the taste buds. Seeds have been saved from the ripened tomatoes but to start plants from seeds takes approximately three months before setting fruit.

How do we capitalize on the existing plant growth this season and advance the time line for picking tomatoes earlier? Urban Garden Magazine published a timely article in the Jul/Aug issue titled "The Tao of Taking Aeroponic Cuttings" as the perfect answer. Although the article addresses propagation for use in an aeroponic system similar principles are applicable in the garden. Cuttings from strong plants provide exact genetic copies of their parent plant and offer an avenue for a "perpetual state of growth." www.urbangardenmagazine.com

Four easy steps to taking a cutting: (p 67-68)
1)Use a clean sharp knife or scissor to clip the stem with growing tip in tact of soft wood plant.
2)Remove excess stem by cutting at a 45 degree angle.
3) Excise most leaves except 4 or 5 around growth tip. The cutting will expend less energy in supporting leaves and put it into root growth resulting in a stronger plant.
4) Apply rooting hormone to the stem of the cutting with a cotton swab. Rooting hormone seals the cutting's edge to reduce shock and promote root growth. There are multiple rooting hormones available commercially and organic home brewed recipes are available online to accommodate the bio-conscious gardener.

Planting your cutting:
5) Prepare clean pots or seedling tray with soil-less mixture of 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 peat moss. This mixture will not contain soil borne pathogens that may damage budding roots.
6) Moisten soil with water.
7) Make a hole in the soil with pencil. Place cutting in the hole. This ensures the hormone remains on the stem and is not removed by pushing the plant into the soil.
8) Water cuttings regularly. The roots should form within 14 day and will be ready to transplant into garden beds or could continue to grow in larger containers.
9) Turn compost into soil in planting hole. Cuttings were buried deep, almost to first leaves.

It will be interesting to document the decrease amount of time needed for bloom set if any. There will be additional posts with pics to see the development.