Tomato Grafting

Cold nights and signs of autumn meant it was time for a clear up.


The main stems were still healthy with no signs of blight.


Healthy to the point of still producing flowers.


Rear view.


After some digging.


TomTato plant No 4.


TomTato plant No 5.


TomTato plant No 6. Could the earlier virus infection have affected tuber development?


Typical example of the root ball of the regular tomato plants.


Typical yield from the regular potatoes.



Total tomato yield was atleast 2kg from each plant and was similar in quantity across all six plants but only a general comparison between regular vs grafted can be made since conditions were not equal, ie plants No 4, 5 and 6 received more sunlight than those behind once they had reached a certain height.

Notice that there are no pictures for B and C? This is because I gave the potatoes away to visitors two days prior. However, I did note that they were both similar in number and similar in weight to A (1.8kg) - not bad for plants raised from 2cm x 2cm sections of seed potato.

Grafting an ordinary tomato to an ordinary potato using basic techniques: objective achieved.

 

Yeah, potatoes don't like too much heat. They are always grown at altitude in the tropics, so I guess they have a big drop off in net photosynthesis beyond about 25C.

 

Thanks!

I think it's a small step in the right direction. What I need to do for next time is to try to increase the planting depth of the rootstock...

In grafting, the rootstock is supposed to confer its properties to the scion. I note Cinnamon's point but there must exist a potato somewhere that has good resistance to temperature extremes.

Perhaps you just need a different combination for your growing environment.

 

Very impressed with results of growing outside Tom/pot grafts. It's turned really cold here (up north) and expect -5 tonight so that will be the definite end. Been very pleased with lean and drop growing of grafts this year. Enclose some final pics from this am. Measured the plants and all about 14-16 ft long. Never counted the actual number of trusses each plant produced but about 12-16 on average I reckon so these are the last lot but nearly all green now

 

Cleared out my tomato polytunnel at the weekend and there were only 2 plants still going, one grown in a pot and the other in soil the border that was a grafted plant @JWK gave me. I was due to swop tomato growing to another tunnel this year (or change the border soil) but events conspired against me, but this appeared to prove that grafting is an alternative to soil replacement or growing in pots.

I'm going to have a serious think about what's easiest, changing over 3m3 of border soil (don't fancy that), growing in pots (expensive + extra hassle with watering), using 3 tunnels and practicing rotation (sounds great, but I don't have water on site), grafting, or maybe a bit of each.

@DRB Impressed with that innovative technique for getting extra crops without extra headroom, might try something like that next year, taking cherry tom stems over where I'm growing large beefsteaks grown for size and only grown to just over half tunnel height.

 

Taken the few toms down which were in back section of greenhouse few varieties and not grafted toms This was the best of them a San Marzano plum. About 6m and 18 trusses. Loads off it but only suitable for saucing as not very tasty

5m tape measure

 

Maybe about two weeks too early to start off the rootstocks but like time and tide, sprouting eyes wait for no man.


So, I dug them out.


And planted them.



I'm restricting the root growth in order to control the stem diameters so that they match up to the tomato scions better. Hopefully, this will work out.

 

O ye, of little faith.




Of course it works. I also tried it with Picasso seeds potatoes (on the right-hand side).

 

My Tumbling Tom / Picasso grafts were all done using the cleft graft (same as JWK):










Seven of these were completed - I'm aiming for five successes.

 

Last year's Tumbling Toms produced masses of fruit. I attributed this mostly down to their healthy root systems, therefore, it would only be logical to try to augment them by multiple rootstock grafts.









Seven completed. Again, I am aiming for five successes.

Other options I am considering for the next batch are to graft on a really long secondary rootstock to act like a deep tap root.

What did I do with the Indigo Rose tops? Well, I grafted those onto the Osprey rootstocks.