Tomato Side Shoots

[JennieAtkinson]

For those of you who are new to this, I found a very good tip in a magazine last year (really really hope it was GYO but can't remember) that can give you extra tomato plants. Any large side shoots you pinch off your tomatoes can be put in water and planted once roots grow.

Just pinched off a couple I had missed, so got them in pots in the kitchen. I don't really need another tomato plant, but if one dies or gets diseased then at least you have another ready to take its place.

PS I'm pretty new to this as well!

[pigletwillie]

Jennie,

they root that well you can just stick them into moist soil. An added bonus is that as they are the same genetic age as the main plant they fruit very quickly too.

[eskymo]

It works - I did this last year!

[leona]

my god, you didnt all plant too many seeds like me then. ive been begging people to take plants away!

[Slug]

I'm with you Leona... I planted WAY to many plants for my garden! I have 24 'strong' plants and aobut 10 weaker ones which are my backups.... not sure why I need backups though as I have too many good plants in the first place that I'm trying to give them to neighbours etc...!!

I had tried taking the sideshoots and just sticking them in the soil last year and it worked a treat - they really come on fast and mine produced much more fruit than I expected.

You can also train a main side shoot (e.g. along the floor and then up another stake) and this aparently gives you 50% more yield off the one tomato plant. If you train 2 side shoots up, you're supposed to get 100% more. I tried it, but one of my side shoots broke when it got big, and the other one definitely produced fruit - just not sure it was worth the hassle trying not to break it!

Slug

[leona]

i went to my local allotments and gave them about 40 plants last week. they sell them off for 40p a pop and i got empty pots back which suited me fine! ive kept 8 for my self.i only really want 4 but i couldnt decide between plants so kept too many. ive got 12 in the greenhouse as a friend of mine is having 4 so im looking after them. i took a side shoot off yesterday to have a go and its wilted so im thinking its too small. i dont give them a chance normally because last year i left them all and they drove me mad, ive been pinching them out as soon as they show their heads

[JennieAtkinson]

Like you Slug I tried training a side shoot last year, but found that despite all the time and effort it broke off!

I too also grow far too much, but you never know whether it is going to take or not. I sowed all my cabbages and cauliflowers and for some reason only have five plants of each that have survived the two leaf stage! I don't mind too many tomatoes though as (I think) they are the easiest fruit/veg to use over the winter months as they cook down into a lovely sauce which freezes well. Green ones make good chutney too. So in my book toms are the best thing I grow.

Oooops, that sounds like the start of another thread

[Squirrel]

Took some shideshoots off my tomatoes because I wanted to try growing them as suggested in one of the threads. Didn't have time to sort them then, so popped them into some water. Well came back to them today - must be a good 10 days to two weeks later (ok so I forgot about them! ) and they were all doing just fine and had sprouted loads of roots! Have since planted them so will see how they go!

[Gryfon]

I have heard this...unfortunately I already have about 60 or 70 plants!!! Far too many

[Sunbeam]

how big do the side shoots have to get & do you just nip them out as usual or do you use a knife to get a clean edge??

[pigletwillie]

If I want any more Sunbeam, I just pick ones that are 3-4 inches tall and pinch them out and stick them in the compost. Obviously you can cut them off if you wish but I have never bothered as they strike so readilly.

[eskymo]

Gryfon - what are you doing with 60-70 tomato plants - do you supply the supermarkets? surely they're not all for you own consumption! Wow!

[lyndap]

I thought I was bad with 48! I have given,son daughter and mom 6 plants each though so at least I'm keeping the family suplied.

[Jaxom]

I have 48 plants of which there are 22 different varieties. Half are in the greenhouse and half are outside. I want next year to only grow for taste combined with performance so need to know which do better where. Next year I want some more space in the greenhouse for a few more types of vegetables.

[eskymo]

You guys must have enourmous plots to accomodate so many tomatoes as well as all the other veg you grow. I've crammed 6 toms into the greenhouse adn they have to fight for space with the 2 cucumber and 3 sugarbaby melons. Then I've got 4 toms outside as well as all my tumbling ones in hanging troughs.

I've got no room in my plot for anything anymore and just pulled up a load of mange tout that the birds had nibbled to death as I didn't think I was going to get anything from them. Very tempted to pull up my peas too as the same has happened to them and I've just planted more pea seeds in the greenhouse to plant later on...not sure it's worth it though.