Grafting thread 2021 - Page 5

b54red · May 31, 2021

I got my first grafted plants into the ground on 5/8/21 which is almost exactly two months later than my favored plant out date of the end of the first week of March. No way I could have planted out that early this year even if I had my grafts ready because of the late cold snaps but the late start I got in grafting did cause a six week delay. My last grafts of the year are only a few days out of the healing chamber and will not be ready to set out for three to four weeks.

Surprisingly I already have fruits forming on about a third of the young grafted plants but I will not be looking for a lot of whoppers with the late planting in such hot weather. I have had pretty good luck with the fusarium wilt in the bed of non grafted plants that I set out. Of the approximately 20 plants I set out I have had to pull 2 because of TSWV but only one so far from fusarium wilt; but the fusarium wilt symptoms are starting to show on at least 6 to 7 more already so the next few weeks will be critical in how many fruits I get off these plants before they become too sick to continue. I haven't gotten a single ripe fruit yet but I do have one starting to blush and some really nice clusters on some of the plants.

I am working diligently to get another bed ready to set out more of my grafted plants so I guess I will be planting fall tomatoes this year.

Bill

GoDawgs · May 31, 2021

I missed the grafting window but decided to start the last RST-04-105 seed I had left and plant it out just to see what happens. That plant is between 2-3' tall now, producing blooms and I am surprised to see that it is the only tomato out of 23 to be developing early blight! Is it not resistant itself?

Question... does anyone know if this variety is a hybrid? If not I'll collect seed and try grafting another time.

Saskatchetoon · June 6, 2021

First time trying this, I read about it here.. I've seen exactly one bee so far this year.

https://youtu.be/ouMla1QIgKI

b54red · June 8, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

I missed the grafting window but decided to start the last RST-04-105 seed I had left and plant it out just to see what happens. That plant is between 2-3' tall now, producing blooms and I am surprised to see that it is the only tomato out of 23 to be developing early blight! Is it not resistant itself?

Question... does anyone know if this variety is a hybrid? If not I'll collect seed and try grafting another time.

From what I have heard it is a hybrid and if you grow it out and save seed you will probably get some different varieties next year when you plant them out. Like every other tomato I have grown it is not resistant to Blight.

Bill

zipcode · June 9, 2021

Interestingly, the cleft grafting in the end, when the plant is mature, still looks mostly like the splice one, the V parts of the rootstock don't grow anymore after grafting, and the tip of the V from the scion enlarges so much that it becomes as thick as the stem.

The best for now is doing the Xi'an Green, even though the Black Dragon was the first one and had a big advantage at some point, not sure why. Also the only one on tomato, even though 6 weeks later then the rest, is growing the fastest, also the leaves are visibly larger. Depending on how it does going forward, it seems like the better choice compared to torvum, even though it's just an old stable variety. Also, as expected, the tomato base it becoming much thicker, especially at the union, while torvum matches exactly the scion.
The lone pepper is doing ok, hard to say yet if there is any clear advantage.

Saskatchetoon · June 12, 2021

Update on my 12 grafted plants. They've been outside in my beds for a week now and the sun and space has given them a boost in foliage. Most are showing flowers now. Been feeding TTF about every 3rd watering.

Saskatchetoon · June 12, 2021

I was thinking about mulching around my plants. My concern is that the graft line is already quite close to the soil. If I mulch above the graft line do I run the risk of promoting scion rooting?

zipcode · June 17, 2021

The Xi'an Green is growing great, definitely larger leaves than in the past, the first fruit is starting to form, I think the very generative nature of this variety and the extra vigor from the rootstock will be a great combination. You can see the grafting place just under the fruit in the picture, the torvum stem lignifies much slower so that part is still green.

One thing I don't like about torvum is the way the roots grow, straight down to the depths, which I think will is a bad thing for containers, there's literally no roots if you dig in the potting mix, they are at the bottom. But maybe a good thing in the field, to get better moisture.

The Aji Criollo is a completely different plant grafted, the leaves are no longer that tragic pale green, but look proper and much bigger. And I've grown that plant from ground to containers and I've even seen pictures of it on another forum.

b54red · June 17, 2021

I had a flurry of grafting a month ago and now I have way too many grafted plants ready to go out and no place to put them. I experienced a high level of failure with my first four or five grafting episodes so I over compensated thinking that I would continue to have at least that high a failure rate going forward but my success rate went up tremendously and now I am left with a lot of orphan plants. I have given away about 100 grafted plants and even now still have well over 50 of them left over. It is getting very late in the season for setting out tomatoes for most gardeners around here due to the heat although there is still time for plenty of tomatoes from plants set out this month if I could find a home for them.

Bill

zipcode · July 10, 2021

That grafted pepper went crazy, it has the biggest leaves I've seen on a pepper and super thick stem, but also it's become too vegetative, there's definitely going to be a good delay in fruit. This variety has small peppers, I wonder if the now super increased leaves will make also bigger peppers, otherwise it will be quite funny.
Certainly something to try if you want to overwinter them, it should make a pretty big difference there.

zipcode · September 20, 2021

From the grafted stuff, the pepper is the one thing that is doing the best. It is now in full production, kind of late, but at least there are plenty of peppers, and a good amount will probably ripen, and the rest can be used for pickling. The fruit itself is only a bit bigger than non-grafted despite the massive leaves, but the plant has gotten huge and has set every single flower.
The second best in the Black Dragon Supreme on S. Torvum. Both in pots and in the garden. Considering our cold summer this year in a marginal climate, this combo is definitely the default going forward, beautiful nice size fruit with great quality, and it produced continuously and still produces.
The other eggplants on s torvum started really really good, and now are doing quite poorly. Not quite sure why, I noticed that torvum has really sensitive roots to too much water, they like it kind of dry, so maybe it was more water than the plants needed now that it's colder. The torvum roots are really quite different, reminds me of a tree, not many hairs, but very very thick, they quickly take over a pot (also has a taproot).
The eggplant on tomato did also extremely well up until a month ago, really not sure what happened, the root system for that one still looks rock solid.

For next year some changes: the black dragon on torvum will become the main variety (seems the compatibility between those two is the best), and the rest of the eggplants will be grafted on tomato. Also more peppers grafted on aji amarillo, in particular the jalapenos.
Also will graft a bit younger plants, maybe this will improve the compatibility and healing time.

May 31, 2021	#61
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I got my first grafted plants into the ground on 5/8/21 which is almost exactly two months later than my favored plant out date of the end of the first week of March. No way I could have planted out that early this year even if I had my grafts ready because of the late cold snaps but the late start I got in grafting did cause a six week delay. My last grafts of the year are only a few days out of the healing chamber and will not be ready to set out for three to four weeks. Surprisingly I already have fruits forming on about a third of the young grafted plants but I will not be looking for a lot of whoppers with the late planting in such hot weather. I have had pretty good luck with the fusarium wilt in the bed of non grafted plants that I set out. Of the approximately 20 plants I set out I have had to pull 2 because of TSWV but only one so far from fusarium wilt; but the fusarium wilt symptoms are starting to show on at least 6 to 7 more already so the next few weeks will be critical in how many fruits I get off these plants before they become too sick to continue. I haven't gotten a single ripe fruit yet but I do have one starting to blush and some really nice clusters on some of the plants. I am working diligently to get another bed ready to set out more of my grafted plants so I guess I will be planting fall tomatoes this year. Bill

May 31, 2021	#62
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	I missed the grafting window but decided to start the last RST-04-105 seed I had left and plant it out just to see what happens. That plant is between 2-3' tall now, producing blooms and I am surprised to see that it is the only tomato out of 23 to be developing early blight! Is it not resistant itself? Question... does anyone know if this variety is a hybrid? If not I'll collect seed and try grafting another time.

June 6, 2021	#63
Saskatchetoon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2021 Location: Saskatoon Saskatchewan Posts: 38	First time trying this, I read about it here.. I've seen exactly one bee so far this year. https://youtu.be/ouMla1QIgKI

June 12, 2021	#67
Saskatchetoon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2021 Location: Saskatoon Saskatchewan Posts: 38	I was thinking about mulching around my plants. My concern is that the graft line is already quite close to the soil. If I mulch above the graft line do I run the risk of promoting scion rooting?

June 17, 2021	#69
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I had a flurry of grafting a month ago and now I have way too many grafted plants ready to go out and no place to put them. I experienced a high level of failure with my first four or five grafting episodes so I over compensated thinking that I would continue to have at least that high a failure rate going forward but my success rate went up tremendously and now I am left with a lot of orphan plants. I have given away about 100 grafted plants and even now still have well over 50 of them left over. It is getting very late in the season for setting out tomatoes for most gardeners around here due to the heat although there is still time for plenty of tomatoes from plants set out this month if I could find a home for them. Bill

September 20, 2021	#71
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	From the grafted stuff, the pepper is the one thing that is doing the best. It is now in full production, kind of late, but at least there are plenty of peppers, and a good amount will probably ripen, and the rest can be used for pickling. The fruit itself is only a bit bigger than non-grafted despite the massive leaves, but the plant has gotten huge and has set every single flower. The second best in the Black Dragon Supreme on S. Torvum. Both in pots and in the garden. Considering our cold summer this year in a marginal climate, this combo is definitely the default going forward, beautiful nice size fruit with great quality, and it produced continuously and still produces. The other eggplants on s torvum started really really good, and now are doing quite poorly. Not quite sure why, I noticed that torvum has really sensitive roots to too much water, they like it kind of dry, so maybe it was more water than the plants needed now that it's colder. The torvum roots are really quite different, reminds me of a tree, not many hairs, but very very thick, they quickly take over a pot (also has a taproot). The eggplant on tomato did also extremely well up until a month ago, really not sure what happened, the root system for that one still looks rock solid. For next year some changes: the black dragon on torvum will become the main variety (seems the compatibility between those two is the best), and the rest of the eggplants will be grafted on tomato. Also more peppers grafted on aji amarillo, in particular the jalapenos. Also will graft a bit younger plants, maybe this will improve the compatibility and healing time.