Mature tomatoes snapped off - can they be saved?

ScottinAtlanta · June 1, 2013

Chipmonks ate away the base of two tomatoes - in the pic, the left is a Cherokee Green and the right is Tanuda Red (sorry, Craig). They snapped off at root level. I put them into water with a little fish emulsion. Three days later, Tanuda Red looks great.

How can I save them for replanting?

JamesL · June 1, 2013

Scott,
I have had good success taking the best branch or suckers, trimming and just jamming them into wet potting mix.

habitat_gardener · June 2, 2013

I beheaded a 12-inch Nepal seedling on the way to the garden a week or two ago. So I planted the bottom part in the garden (it's doing well, sprouting new sets of leaves), and potted up the top part.

When I pot up cuttings, I make a clean cut below the lowest node and remove any leaves that would be below ground. I like to have 2 nodes below ground, but it works with 1 as well. I ignored the cutting for a couple days and it looked wilted, so I brought it home to the intensive-care (for plants) unit, where I pay more attention to the seedlings. Now it looks vigorous and healthy, and I will plant it in the garden tomorrow.

RobinB · June 2, 2013

Scott,
You'll probably just lose a little bit of time. I usually put a cutting in water until I see some roots, and then a couple of days in soil in a pot in the shade to recover, and THEN back into the sun and garden. For me, if I rush the process, the plant gets all wilty. I haven't had much luck with putting a cutting directly into soil, but I know others have.

Irv Wiseguy · June 2, 2013

I had a Husky Cherry Red with 2 main stems and I accidentally snapped off one of them while planting it. I put the broken stem in a cup of water with a little bit of Miracle Grow fertilizer in it and after a week it was still alive but I saw no evidence of root growth. I then moved it to a cup of potting mix saturated with water and after another week it had tons of roots growing. I don't know if putting it in water is wrong or if i was just impatient.

The plant is now about 2 feet tall and is doing great in a 10 gallon pot.

b54red · June 2, 2013

I have found that wet DE is the best potting medium for starting suckers. It greatly reduces the danger from damping off and bacterial wilt which used to kill a lot of the suckers I started in wet potting soil.

Bill

ScottinAtlanta · June 2, 2013

Thanks folks. I will get them into soil immediately.

Bill, What DE are you using? I assume not the fine powder kind we use against ants.

June 1, 2013	#2
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	Scott, I have had good success taking the best branch or suckers, trimming and just jamming them into wet potting mix.

June 2, 2013	#3
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	I beheaded a 12-inch Nepal seedling on the way to the garden a week or two ago. So I planted the bottom part in the garden (it's doing well, sprouting new sets of leaves), and potted up the top part. When I pot up cuttings, I make a clean cut below the lowest node and remove any leaves that would be below ground. I like to have 2 nodes below ground, but it works with 1 as well. I ignored the cutting for a couple days and it looked wilted, so I brought it home to the intensive-care (for plants) unit, where I pay more attention to the seedlings. Now it looks vigorous and healthy, and I will plant it in the garden tomorrow.

June 2, 2013	#4
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	Scott, You'll probably just lose a little bit of time. I usually put a cutting in water until I see some roots, and then a couple of days in soil in a pot in the shade to recover, and THEN back into the sun and garden. For me, if I rush the process, the plant gets all wilty. I haven't had much luck with putting a cutting directly into soil, but I know others have.

June 2, 2013	#5
Irv Wiseguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 281	I had a Husky Cherry Red with 2 main stems and I accidentally snapped off one of them while planting it. I put the broken stem in a cup of water with a little bit of Miracle Grow fertilizer in it and after a week it was still alive but I saw no evidence of root growth. I then moved it to a cup of potting mix saturated with water and after another week it had tons of roots growing. I don't know if putting it in water is wrong or if i was just impatient. The plant is now about 2 feet tall and is doing great in a 10 gallon pot.

June 2, 2013	#6
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have found that wet DE is the best potting medium for starting suckers. It greatly reduces the danger from damping off and bacterial wilt which used to kill a lot of the suckers I started in wet potting soil. Bill

June 2, 2013	#7
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Thanks folks. I will get them into soil immediately. Bill, What DE are you using? I assume not the fine powder kind we use against ants.