should i take cuttings from my tomato?

i only managed to keep one plant of a really good beefsteak variety alive this year, because i accidentally left the coldframe open in the early stages...
is it worth taking cuttings of the remaining (large and healthy) plant, to produce more fruit? or will it weaken the plant/ cuttings wont bear fruit?

 

Hi ellwill,

I am only a mere novice,but I would say that you are better off growing from seed or as I did this year by from a garden center. Someone will probably be along later with more advice, but if it were me I wouldn't.

Rusty

 

I quite often take the odd side shoot and use it as a cutting for later fruit.

But I've never actually taken growth I require on the plant, that's taking it a stage too far I think.

 

Yes - e.g. using an unwanted side shoot (let it grow long enough to make a viable cutting(

No, I don't think so.

Well it will be a good month behind the mother plant, but [very significantly] quicker than starting from seed

 

I am new to all this Tomato growing, (One season planted late and season ended before ripe)
This year, I got them in on time, but had a few disasters
Through ignorance rather than knowledge,
The plants I damaged by snapping them off a ground level, I stripped of the next pair of branches up , and stuck them back in the ground, they have rooted in two weeks and indeed have trusses on them
Again ignorance but trial and error, I stuck the large nipped off branches at the joint to main stem, stuck them in the ground and they are growing well, no trusses yet

So it is worth a try with at least the two bottom branches

Does it not work, if at the end of the season you take the seeds from ONE ripe tomato, dry and plant up next year ?

Jack McHammocklashing

 

i have a further question.
upon closer inspection the side shoot i was going to use has 2 trusses of flower on... why do all the gardening places tell me to nip these side shoots out if they bear fruits?

 

:s

 

In this months Gardeners world mag it shows you how to do it. It says:

You need side shoots between 10-20cm. Remove lower leaves and place in a glass of water on sunny window sill. Keep it filled with water and roots should appear within 3-4 weeks. plant in 10cm pots and grow on until well rooted. new plants should fruit later this year.

Rusty

 

Surprised it would take 3-4 weeks, if that's the case [using water] I think they would root much faster than that in an "open" mix - say half-and-half Multipurpose and Perlite. I've done it in previous years - forgot this year - only had 3 seeds left of one variety and meant to take cuttings to get another 3 plants as I normally grow half-a-dozen.

I find Toms raised from cuttings, although obviously a bit later to harvest, get their first truss lower down the plant, so you get more trusses before they hit the greenhouse roof.

 

I'm quite heavy handed or ham-fisted and whilst side shooting tom plants when they are small, I inevitably snap a plant or two! Using sideshoots and potting them on gives me replacements, I generally get a 50% strike rate with them. They will wilt once potted on but don't worry, just water, keep damp and leave them to it, discard those that go crispy and plant the rest when ready.

Steve...

 

John, how do you know your saved Amish Paste are not cross pollinating with other varieties you are growing?
I know Toms tend to be self fertile but it could happen outside with the bees and all.:WINK1:

 

Only potato leaf & currant tomatoes cross pollinate, and looking at 'Amish Paste' here http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Amish_Paste they don't seem to fall into either of those catorgories.

 

OK, so how did they originate, bearing in mind they wont cross pollinate with other toms.
I just find the whole thing confusing.
Are we to believe that what we grow now is exactly the same as the original?
Surely in order for that to be so, we would need to use cuttings or vegetative propagation of some kind.