Potato grafting

[StrongPlant]

Originally Posted by slugworth

Getting back to the original post;I am going to make the attempt next week.
I have lots of seed potatoes and tomato seedlings to play with.
I never had luck grafting tomatoes,so it should be interesting.

If you can,you should try out different solanum species as well.For example last year along with tomatoes I also grafted solanum nigrum on a few potatoes,and although the plants fused and the scieon grew quite a lot,it was very suspicable to insects and disease,presumably due to rootstock being an extra sugar sink,which the plant could not handle.Therefore I advise on using solanum species that are naturally herbacious perennials,that is,their roots are significant sugar sinks.This year I might try solanum dulcamara as scion and I'll report the results here.Sorry for a late reply,I am just getting activated on this forum again since it's spring in my area and tomatoes are being grown now.

[slugworth]

I wonder if there is a time element involved?All the grafts I see on the net are cherry tomatoes,maybe the roots don't stay alive long enough for bigger tomatoes?

[StrongPlant]

Originally Posted by slugworth

I wonder if there is a time element involved?All the grafts I see on the net are cherry tomatoes,maybe the roots don't stay alive long enough for bigger tomatoes?

Cherry types typically have lower total yields which means they expend less resources on fruit,leaving more energy to go elsewhere-such as roots,in this case potato tubers.I'm guessing this is why they graft cherry tomatoes on them,what you see are not big tomatoes that stayed small because they were grafted.

[slugworth]

Last year we had a drought,I wonder how the grafts will do in a drought year.
The potato shoots are fat,I will have to graft smaller tomato onto that or wait until my tomato stems are fat enough.I never had luck with any grafting so I don't get my hopes up too high.

[slugworth]

I went bold for the 1st attempt and used heat shrink tubing that fit snug on the tomato cutting then found a potato stem that also fit snug.No heat applied,just a snug room temp fit.
The tubing should lock in freshness and avoid droop.Extra bold is the tomato choice of omar's lebanese.
IF it stays alive long enough I can cut the tubing off with a razor to allow for growth.
Blue potato so it should be real interesting if the tomato is normal or not.
If it works I may try the tubing on tomato/tomato grafts.

[StrongPlant]

Originally Posted by slugworth

I went bold for the 1st attempt and used heat shrink tubing that fit snug on the tomato cutting then found a potato stem that also fit snug.No heat applied,just a snug room temp fit.
The tubing should lock in freshness and avoid droop.Extra bold is the tomato choice of omar's lebanese.
IF it stays alive long enough I can cut the tubing off with a razor to allow for growth.
Blue potato so it should be real interesting if the tomato is normal or not.
If it works I may try the tubing on tomato/tomato grafts.

I'm using silicone tubes that are commonly used by fish keepers for air pumps,I cut them 1/2-1 inch long,then cut those pieces vertically.They snug around stems perfectly and apply just enough grip to hold them together.

If you can you should graft a couple of them and use a different growing technique for each one.For example,the first one you can just let grow,no prunning.The second you can remove flower trusses,the third you can try limited number of stems,for ex. 2 or 3 with allowance of fruiting,the fourth same as 3d but cut out the flowers etc. etc...the possibilities are endless.I've abandoned tomato as scion for this experiment,because I think it can't outpreform non-grafted potatoes,but maybe you'll have a different experience.

I've only today planted S.Dulcamara,but it's not too late.I think I might try chinese lantern as a scion also,since it's a vigorous perenial weed in my yard.It's a long shot becuase it's a diffrent genus,but costs me nothing to try.

ALSO important note: potatoes will persistantly put out their own shoots and it's important to remove them as soon as they emerge because otherwise the point of experiment is ruined.Good news is they do stop at some point.

[slugworth]

The scion has the droops but I keep misting it during the day.
Too much moisture can be no good tho.
One tomato/tomato experiment the graft failed but the scion set out it's own roots and was being kept alive by that.I was fooled into thinking success.
Tomato supply is limited so I will have to wait until they are bigger.
I topped a tomato plant to get the scion, so I didn't actually waste a plant.

[slugworth]

I topped about a dozen plants to use the base as something to graft to.
I took the tops and put them outside in wet potting soil.
Should be interesting to see if they set out roots themselves.

[slugworth]

None of the grafts took,I tried to do 5
I will have to plant the plants close together and try grafting with both plants having roots until the graft takes.

[StrongPlant]

Originally Posted by slugworth

None of the grafts took,I tried to do 5
I will have to plant the plants close together and try grafting with both plants having roots until the graft takes.

Ah that's too bad.Don't give up just yet.
Did you put the grafts in high-humidity environment with very little light? This is required for grafts to heal properly.

[slugworth]

just the opposite.
I did mist them every few hours tho.
I don't think the potato stem heals/grows fast enough.

[slugworth]

I had been using potatoes already starting to grow in a large deep tray with soil,but I think that is too bulky.I will switch over to seed potatoes sprouting loose and put them in individual zip lock plastic bags.

[StrongPlant]

Originally Posted by slugworth

I had been using potatoes already starting to grow in a large deep tray with soil,but I think that is too bulky.I will switch over to seed potatoes sprouting loose and put them in individual zip lock plastic bags.

Put the freshly grafted plants in complete shade-no sunlight until they heal.Afterwards gradually aclimate them to full sun.Good luck with your second attempt.

[slugworth]

I cut 4 cells out of a cardboard egg container and soaked it with water.I put that in a plastic ziplock bag and the grafted potato into the holder.Zipped it up and put it under my kitchen cupboard.

[slugworth]

I used the tubing on the graft so I will have to guess is it safe? to put it under gro lites.