Thailand calling--Just learned what y'all have probably always known

[maupin]

Here in Thailand we have 4 season farming. A couple of weeks ago my farm partner approaches my flowering Uncle Mark Bagby, pulls out his knife and cuts off a sucker. He then dips in in pond water and plants it.

Since back in the world we only have one season tomato farming this skill was never revelaed to me, and I was incredulous. He looked at me like I was the only guy on the planet who did not know you could root propogate.

(Now I know that some folks would suggest rooting hormone-- ain't got much of that in these parts.)

Fast forward two weeks-- the suckers are growing nicely.

I am thinking about the political economy in the developing world of root propogation vs. purchasing seed. It would have profound consequences. Way cool.

On an unrelated topic-- we have Neem trees on the continent where they are native, but I cannot buy Neem oil. We are experimenting with different Neem recipes. Will let you know.

[Paul R]

Interesting, keep us posted!

[nangisha]

Its thats really possible .

I really wanna know how its done.

[MikeT_PDX]

Nangisha,
There's nothing tricky about it. Tomato cuttings will develop roots if kept in water or wet soil. Inside my house, in a cup of water, it takes about 7-8 days.
Many people don't bother with the cup of water, but just plant the cuttings directly in the soil. If kept moist they will have roots in about a week.

Mike

[nangisha]

Originally Posted by MikeT_PDX

Nangisha,
There's nothing tricky about it. Tomato cuttings will develop roots if kept in water or wet soil. Inside my house, in a cup of water, it takes about 7-8 days.
Many people don't bother with the cup of water, but just plant the cuttings directly in the soil. If kept moist they will have roots in about a week.

Mike

My tomato is about to develop their first flower and I think I will let few sucker grow. How big is your tomato suckers when you cut it?.

[MikeT_PDX]

Originally Posted by nangisha

My tomato is about to develop their first flower and I think I will let few sucker grow. How big is your tomato suckers when you cut it?.

I prefer small cuttings just because they are easier to work with. Usually 4 inches to 10 inches, but I don't think it matters much. They can grow roots whether they are small or large.

[carolyn137]

THE only time I take sucker cuttings is when there's been critter damage and then I just take the cutting, jam it in the dirt, aka soil, near the damaged plant, build a wee moat around the cutting and keep it filled with water until I see new growth and that's that.

it really is best to root cuttings in a solid matrix such as aritificial mix or whatever since cuttings rooted in water just have to adapt their roots to a solid matrix anyway which takes longer.

And other than that I don't take cuttings for new plants of the same b'c I want to grow yet more varieties new to me, always, and besides, being in my growing zone there's no advantage to doing so anyway.

And woe to those who take cuttings and then try to overwinter a few varieties b'c you have to keep taking cuttings sequentially through the winter and then time those last cuttings so you have the correct size plants to set out.

[dice]

You can bend down a stem long enough to reach the soil,
set a brick or large rock on it to keep it there, and it will
grow roots into the soil, too. After a couple of weeks cut
it off from the main plant, and you have another tomato
plant to dig up and plant where you want it.