If you aren't interested in getting into grafting, healing chambers, growing scions, etc. and all the time and cost involved then I'd suggest you return them for a refund or sell the seeds to someone who needs them for grafting purposes. Choose other varieties to grow for actual fruit production.

Dave

To further clarify my confusion... heh... IS the maxifort rootstock simply a stem base and in need of another tomato breed to have connected to it?

So technically I would need to grow the maxifort rootstock to become the stem, and I would need to grow another tomato plant, to become the top?

OR, could I grow TWO maxifort rootstock plants and connect them to each other?

Thanks for any help with me understanding exactly what I am doing.

dig, I appreciate your advice. I checked out a video on youtube that didn't seem too difficult, honestly. BUT I am confused on what exactly GETS ATTACHED to the rootstock seedlings after I cut them, etc... I'm assuming I don't connect TWO maxifort together?

Ok. Not to answer my own questions BUT here's a great video for newbs like myself http://youtu.be/WSwTCwlhFgo

AND yes, the maxifort rootstock is in fact, the bottom, and another breed would be the top :)

IS the maxifort rootstock simply a stem base and in need of another tomato breed to have connected to it?

Yes.

So technically I would need to grow the maxifort rootstock to become the stem, and I would need to grow another tomato plant, to become the top?

Yes.

OR, could I grow TWO maxifort rootstock plants and connect them to each other?

No. If for some reason someone wanted to grow just Maxifort then it doesn't need to have another Maxifort grafted to it.

Maxifort is normally used only for its base, for grafting to other varieties to improve the resistance to soil borne pathogens. And tomato grafting isn't as simple as some youTube video would make it seem. Even many professionals with lots of experience report only at 40-50% success rate.

Dave

It is not a variety to grow for tomatoes to eat IMO.

Curious, if not done to eat, what would it be done for?

Jack - sorry I guess I am not saying it very clearly. The variety was developed specifically to be used as grafting root stock for the disease resistance it then imparts to other varieties that don't have resistance to the soil borne diseases. That is its primary reason for existence, its primary use, and the reason why it is so much more expensive than most varieties.

The vendors that list it call it "rootstock" or "Maxifort Rootstock" and all say things like

Maxifort - Disease-resistant rootstock. Grow tomato rootstock to add disease resistance and much improved plant vigor for an extended harvest.

It was not developed for eating, for flavor and those few that have tried it give it blah reviews. The fruit is small, hard, and bitter. The fact that you could eat it if you wanted is secondary. but there are literally thousands of varieties that are much better eating tomatoes.

If you want to grow it that's your choice of course but there are literally thousands of varieties that are much better eating tomatoes.

Hope this helps clarify.

Dave

The more I read up on this the more I actually am really interested in it. Frankenstein plants! What else can you root stock?

And yes, you've actually been helpful. So thank you. I think I get what you're saying I think. Maxifort Rootstock grown as an isolated plant isn't known for being so tasty but I'm guessing when you frankenstein the thing it could become tasty if done correctly.

when you frankenstein the thing it could become tasty if done correctly.

Once you frankenstein the thing then you aren't growing Maxifort. It ceases to be Maxifort and becomes whatever variety you graft onto it - Brandywine, Big Beef, Kosovo, Cherokee Purple, etc. Whatever. And they are just like the fruit you'd get from that variety without the grafting. But the plant now has greater resistance to any of the soil borne pathogens it wouldn't have otherwise. :)

Dave

BUMP

I came across this thread while searching for MAXIFOT seeds. Expensiiiive !!

The cheapest price I found was 25 bucks for 100 seeds. I don't need that many seeds. I just want to do an experiment with maybe 10 seeds.

Anybody here has some extras ? I can trade or compensate.

I want to do this grafting , NOT because of soil borne disease issue as I have none. I want to experiment its effect on improving production.

I know that BiG BeeF is widely used for grafting (disease issue) but I am not sure how much does it improve productivity.

If I cannot get MAXIFORT, I will use Big Beef as root stock for my upcoming experiment,

Sey

.

jackblasto Ok. Not to answer my own questions BUT here's a great video for newbs like myself http://youtu.be/WSwTCwlhFgo

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Yeah , that gut is pretty good

Seysonn_8a-NC/HZ-7

The Maxifort root stock is SO vigorous that, if you can graft an heirloom scion that has great taste but is not very productive, like Purple Cherokee, you can get almost twice the production. You could use the Big Beef as the rootstock for disease resistance and you may have some vigor, too. Fun to try.