It’s time to put tomato plants into the ground for those in USDA cold hardiness zones 7 up for fall crops.
Too Late For Seeds
It’s too late to start them from seed, so don’t waste your time. For zones 6 and below, there’s probably not enough growing time before first frost.
Traditionally, it’s very hard to find tomato plants right now. Many nursery outlets will have tomato plants, but generally not until September. That’s really too late. By the time the plant begins to set fruit, colder weather will intervene.
But there’s really no need to go out and purchase new tomato plants. The old ones in the garden will do just fine. Yep, they’re spent and probably won’t provide many tomatoes, if any, from now on. They might produce a few green ones, and for those who like fried green tomatoes, now is the time for them.
Instead of buying new plants, just clone the old ones. If they’re a good variety and have been producing well, why not?
Tomatoes clone, that is divide by asexual reproduction, very easily and there are several ways to do this
Layering
This is probably the simplest way to create new tomato plants from existing ones.
- Find a green shoot on an existing plant.
- If the shoot is close to the ground, dig a small trench in the soil below it.
- Lay the shoot down in the trench.
- Remember, the shoot is still attached to the mother plant. Keep it attached.
- Cover the shoot with a layer of soil (perhaps two or three inches). The idea is to keep the shoot completely immobile, while also giving it nutrients. When covering the shoot, make sure to leave the end of the shoot, along with some of the leaves, exposed. This permits the plant to make chlorophyll while it is taking root.
- Leave the shoot this way for a couple of weeks, watering regularly.Then, check the roots by moving back the soil a little.
- If you see white roots, snip the shoot between the rooted portion and the parent plant.
- Either transplant the shoot, or let it stay where it is. Give it some compost for nutrients. It should start setting flowers by the end of September, maybe sooner.
Cloning (Layering) Higher Shoots
- If the new shoot is too far from the ground, simply hanga small pot alongside the shoot (suspend it on the tomato cage or even tie it to the plant itself.) Place some soil in the pot, lay the shoot across the soil, and then place more soil on top.
- Water.
- When the roots have formed, snip the shoot off, and plant the clone.
A third way to do this is to simply wrap peat moss around the trunk of the shoot and tie it off with a string (or rubber band). Keep watered. After a couple of weeks, snip the shoot and plant it.
By October any of these clones should be producing sweet and tasty tomatoes.
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