Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Large plants of any kind in AP media can fall prey to high winds etc so I thought I'd pass on this tip I just read which may help with tomatoes which in many parts of Australia are almost ready to be planted.

When you plant out tomato seedlings, put the seedlings in deep holes, up to the top set of leaves. The covered stems will put out extra roots and you will have a stronger, healthier plants.

It's something I'd never known about.

The other one is that after it starts growing you can remove the lower leaves and bend the stem over and bury it, just leaving the top showing.

Thats the great thing about gardening isn't it, always learning...

Or start your tomatoes in sets of 2. Then graft them together and once its taken, cut off one of the tops. You end up with a stronger root base. You can even use potato and tomatoes. Cut off the potato top and the tomato roots once the graft has taken. You end up with a crop of tomatoes and potatoes. Next Tomaco.

Seems what you are talking about Malcolm is trenching. Another interesting concept.

You're right. Learning every day.

Just plant the buggers and prune off lower yellowing leaves. Enjoy fruit
Planting seedlings deep is a good thing, but not if its wet.
Tomatoes will set out roots at any oportunity. Bend a shoot down bury it and roots will grow in no time
If you have leggy seedlings then planting them length ways, with just the tip showing does the same

I heard if you snap off the side shoots and replant them they grow roots
I did it and surprised its true, growing well covered in flowers and seemed to have a head start because it went in as a big plant.

HaHa Mantis

+1

If you keep striking the cuttings you can keep the same plant going for years. I had cherry tomatoes growing this way for years.

Have you had your cherry toms reverting to bigger sizes every year Duff? My 3rd year ones are considerably bigger than the originals.

So you're telling me I can cut off a branch of a tomato plant and stick it into my GB/dirt and it will grow into a full fledged fruiting tomato plant? And that I can keep doing this repetitively therefore in essence growing many plants from just seed, essentially clones of the original plant?

This works for all plants?

The "suckers," the shoots that come from the junction of a branch and the main stem, the shoots that you should be pinching off anyway, are especially suitable for this. They have the shape of a complete plant already, and eagerly develop roots.

Have fun.

Rick

There you go this tomato was the little bit pinched of the parent plant it outgrew the parent plant

Mine seemed to stay the same but I did get sick of cherry tomatoes. The more you grow a plant in your enviroment the better it gets.

Here's Fishfodder's tomato wall.... Wollongong,a few weeks ago...



Cherry Tomatoes, Black Russians, and another couple of varieties....

after I read this topic, I pinched a shoot off my wifes dirt tomato, trimed off some leaves and planted it in my setup. It is growing well now. This really works