How To Take Tomato Cuttings

Introduction

Step By Step Video

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Video Transcript

For the first time this year I have experimented with taking tomato cuttings, and I’ve been really surprised at how easy it is. I will show all the steps in this video, including repotting the cuttings into their final pot, and what growing media I used for my tomatoes.

All four cuttings I have made have successfully formed roots, and are now mini-plants - significantly more advanced than if I had sown more seed. To be honest I’m very impressed, and wondering why I didn’t try this years ago. My experiment has been so successful I may even sow less seed next year, knowing that I can rely on taking cuttings to boost the number of plants. I usually over sow the number of seeds I need, to allow for some seed not germinating, but by taking cuttings I may no longer need to do this. Also, taking cuttings would also be an excellent way of sharing tomato varieties you are growing with friends and family.

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Taking a cutting is very quick. It’s important that the cutting goes straight into soil without drying out, so my first task was to prepare the pot that the cuttings were to go in. I chose a big pot that I could use for multiple cuttings, as this seemed the most efficient use of compost. I filled the pot with soil, rubbing the compost between my hands to remove any lumps, and then watered the compost well.

The cuttings I made were the side shoots on my tomato plants. The side shoots grow diagonally out of the elbow between the main vertical stem of the tomato plant and a horizontal branch. In previous years, I have always pruned away these side shoots, as pruning helps to concentrate the energy of the tomato plant on growing fruit rather than leaves.

The side shoots I chose for my cuttings were about 4 inches long and had developed at least two true leaves. I used a pair of sharp scissors to make the cuttings. Having taken the cutting, I immediately pushed this into the wet compost I had previously prepared. I repeated this step three more times to give a total of four cuttings.

I placed the pot on a big tray that had a raised lip of about two inches high, and filled the tray with water to create a moat. As the cuttings had quite large leaves, and at this stage no roots, there was a risk that the plants would dry out and die before their roots had time to form. To stop this happening, for the next two weeks I regularly checked the tray to ensure it always contained water, and kept the plants in a semi-shady area of the garden so the plants would not be subjected to constant drying sunshine.

For the first week, I was a little concerned that the cuttings had not taken, as the leaves on several of the cuttings were drooping. However, by the start of the third week, it was clear the plants were in good health. They were standing upright, the leaves held high, and the plants were actually growing, even producing flowers. It was time for repotting.

I like to grow my tomatoes in big pots. For these plants, I used a combination of coco bricks and well rotted manure, as I was running a little low on compost. Tomato grow bags are another easy option, but I wanted to avoid a trip to the shops. To use a grow bag, I would cut it in half and stand the bags on their end, effectively creating two containers.

To use coco bricks, I soaked a coco brick in water for about twenty minutes, and then used a hand trowel to fully break apart the brick and to ensure that there are no dry lumps. If the coco bricks are still dry, just pour in some water.

When the coco was ready, I transferred it to a big tub, before adding an equal quantity of well rotted manure, and gave the mixture a good stir with a hand trowel until it was evenly mixed. I find this is a good combination. Coco bricks have excellent water retention properties, but do not contain nutrients. Well rotted manure, or garden compost, compensates for this. The coco bricks effectively helps homemade compost go further, and prevents the growing media being too rich for the plants.

I like to add stones to the bottom of my pots to help with drainage. I then add my mixture to the pots, filling them to about four inches to the top. For the final few inches, I add a top layer of shop bought compost. The shop bought compost is completely weed free, and helps to block out any weed growth that may happen if using homegrown compost by itself. Before transplanting, I gave the pots a good wetting with water.

The last step was the crucial one of separating out the cuttings and checking that they had developed a good root system. When I carefully removed the cuttings from the pot, I was happy and surprised to see just how much root had developed, with the roots having reached the bottom of the pot and starting to wrap round. I carefully prised the tomato plants apart, and each one had developed a strong root system of its own.

This made the final step an easy one. I created a deep hole in the prepared plant pots, dropped in one of the plants, and carefully firmed up the soil around it, being very careful not to knock off any leaves or damage the central stem.

The result was a collection of healthy, strong tomato plants. Of my cuttings, two went straight into big pots, and I’ve held two back in reserve in smaller pots whilst I decide what to do with them.

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