Tomato plants come in one of two types: Determinate and Indeterminate.

A Determinate plant knows what it will be when it’s a seed. It’s gonna grow into a bush, flower, fruit, wilt and die. An indeterminate plant isn’t an organism, it’s a program. A stalk will emerge, it will grow a stem, from the stem will arise an alternate pattern of leafy branches and flower clusters. At the crotch of each leafy branch will emerge a sucker. That sucker will grow like a full plant, alternating leaf flower clusters and leaf branches, with their own suckers.

Tomatoes also have an interesting characteristic: Anywhere they touch soil, they’ll put out roots.

So pinch a sucker off a young tomato plant (part of pruning them) and then stick that sucker in some fresh, moist soil. It’ll put out roots and become it’s own plant, genetically identical to the original.

Took 5 minutes, most of it walking.

  • LordMayor@piefed.socialEnglish
    6·
    12 天前

    How do you know when/where/what suckers to pinch? Every time I do this I end up messing up the plant and it gets stunted and twisted or dies.

    This year the suckers will have to just get to grow wild.

    • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      2·
      11 天前

      I don’t think there’s an exact science. I tend to take the first couple from the base of the plant, I also take off the first flower cluster. I want the plant to put its energy into growing big early in the season, not worth a couple early tomatoes. From there I pretty much let it grow.

  • dihutenosa@piefed.socialEnglish
    5·
    12 天前

    This is so cool!
    Will the new tomato plant have enough time to bear fruit, though? It started its growing season late.

    • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      1·
      12 天前

      In my area they will. My vines tend to die in December. Maybe’ I’d have gotten more tomatoes if I’d have bought more plants last month? But our bean crop fell through so I had some trellis space for some extra maters.

  • Elting@piefed.socialEnglish
    3·
    12 天前

    Good info about tomatoes. This will be my second year growing them and I’m still pretty ignorant about it.

    • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      2·
      12 天前

      Tomatoes are weird little dudes. Especially indeterminates. But, with a sunny spot in the back yard and some cages you can do a lot better than the grocery store can.

      • Elting@piefed.socialEnglish
        2·
        11 天前

        Yeah i had three san marzano plants last year. Prolific guys and they made fantastic sauce.