Cut some slots out of the bottom and sides of the cup with a razor knife so the soil can drain. Then keep her in the shade and I bet she'll perk right up.

Yep it should make it. I'd trim off those big leaves that are hanging down the sides. Just leave the central growth tip. Less demand on it that way.

These are some of mine from earlier this year after 72 hours.

{{gwi:1340408}}

Good luck. ;)

Dave

ok thanks for the quick replies!

slits are cut in the sides and bottom. water came running right out. i thought the point was to keep it super wet, but i guess you don't want standing water.
Larger leaves are snipped. And we wait ;-)

I did some cutting about 5 days ago and they are just now starting to show signs of perking up, so just hang in there with them, they should come around!

The best way to take tomato cuttings is to fill a three inch pot with potting compost, water well with standard miracle grow dissolved feed in the water-as it contains all the trace elements needed, let drain for a couple of minutes, stick in your cutting to within half an inch from the bottom, then take an ordinary polythene sandwich bag and place over the whole thing and tie up the top with an elastic band or something, leave in a warm place with plenty of light , for a minimum of ten days- then open up top and look at plant- which by them should be growing nicely- complete with any leaves that were on it,-remove bag and treat as a new pot plant.

I have a yellow pear, early girl and sungold cuttings doing well here in the Sac valley.

This is my second season and the most valuable lesson is to bury 'em deep for strong stems. =)

http://h1.ripway.com/Cudaguy/Sungoldcutting@4weeks.JPG

I dunno if the pic will show up as this forum is quirky.

I'm looking fwd to a second season of my best via my cuttings.

Rich

Micky, pleaes refer me to where you got this information.

I could not disagree with it more. Honestly, it sounds like a recipie for rotting gob of goo.

All that plant needs is a couple slits cut in the cup but still kept very moist, anything touching the cup trimmed off, protected from wind, placed in dappled sun and planted in about 2 weeks.

Dave,

Didn't you read the first post in this thread? It says, "How can I produce a rotting goo gob." :-)

I actually spit out me coke after reading your reply. Very funny really.

Micky,
I would think that putting a plant in a closed bag in the summer sun for a few hours would be enough to kill it. The heat would be incredible. I put seeds in dirt covered with a clear container in the dark for no more then 3 days. After that mold starts to form. I would think that your plan would create lots of mold and other problems. Have you done this before?

Greg

morning update......you guys are great!

She stood right up at attention this morning like......well use your own morning experiences here....;-)

now the question, my garden gets direct sun from about 10-6 give or take. I am planning on putting the cutting in its spot but still in ths cup and with lattice over it to break up the sun. Is this the plan, and when do i do this?

thanks again all....

Greg,

I usually try to be much more tactful and probably should have been then too.

I am planning on putting the cutting in its spot but still in ths cup and with lattice over it to break up the sun. Is this the plan, and when do i do this?

Weelll, not the way I would do it. ;) Risky. Mine get 8-10 days in semi-sheltered shade, close, where I can keep an eye on the soil moisture levels. Treat them just as you would hardening off transplants in the early spring.

Dave

Hi. If this is a new cutting and has no roots yet I'd be very careful that it mot get ANY direct sun. Filtered or ambient outside light is sufficient for the rooting period. You'll know it has roots when the tip starts to show growth. Fluorescents would work out well also. And remember those new tissues need Oxygen (air) as much as moisture. Don't over-water. move to stronger light gradually, like hardening it off. Happy gardening.

Hey your little pup looks great this morning. I'd wait until there was plenty of new growth then slowly harden it off like a new seedling, as someone wisely said upthread.

We sure do coddle these damn plants, don't we? I bet you could throw it out the kitchen door and it would probably root just as well.

Good luck and good gardening.

so there is my main problem. hardening off. I didnt grow anything from seed this year because I just dont have the time. I leave the house at 8 and get back around 7. my garden gets light from about 10-4.
when and how do i put them in sun for a little, then a little more, than a little more?
Any one let me in on this one? Oh yeah, I have 3 kids under 4. so forget about asking DW. She would probably stab me.....JK

Got an outside covered porch? A big bush that you could set it under? Some place out of the wind and out of the direct sun. Like I said above 8-10 days of semi-shelter. Once it gets 2-3 leaves of new growth showing it will be ready to go to the garden. Then when the next cloudy, overcast day comes along, transplant it in the evening.

Dave

Dave
thats where she is now. on our porch. 0 sun. so i will wait and give it a shot when the time comes. I'll post more pics then/
thanks

I had a cutworm cut my young plant down to its base.. I replanted it right away in the same spot with 1 straw on either side of it. At first it looked like it was gonna croak. after about one week it started to perk up and now looks like its on its way... I didn't harden it off and my bed gets full sun from like 8 am to 7 pm.. it made it.. whew...I figured if it doesn't it doesnt' and I am so busy gardening I just didn't have the time to coddle it.

Regaldozer, what everyone is trying to say, is that your new baby needs time to build a few roots. This is a stressful job for the little cuss and it needs "INDIRECT" sunlight. Direct sunlight forces the plant to start photosynthesis fulltime, turning its effort away from building roots.

The last time I saw plants inside a plastic bag was on the 6 o'clock news. Something about "wacky tobacky". :>)

I never said anything about putting it in direct sunlight or excessive heat.

All I actually said was put it in a warm place that had plenty of light, by warm-I meant room temp or slightly higher.

I can assure you that this method does not produce a rotting bag of gue, hundreds of people have been using this method over here in the UK for donkeys years, and it works every single time,- the whole idea of using the polythene bag for ten days is to stop the plant wilting whilst the roots start to grow and it almost avoids total transpiraiton of moisture from the leaves which normally happens without it,

When the bag is removed after ten days -the cutting inside is usually fresh and green and growing away nicely- this method is also used commercially by Fuchsia growers for striking fuchsia cuttings by the hundred in long lines on a bench,- works with chrysanthemums too.

The whole idea of the polythene bag is to prevent the cutting sagging leaves and wilting-whilst the roots start to form- it is such a good method that in some cases tomato cuttings can be removed from the bag within five or six days- but most people leave them for a minimum of ten days, new growth can be observed through the clear plastic bag- which creates a micro climate and condensation very similar to when one is germinating seeds- the growth just spurts ahead- unchecked-without any wilting or anything, but obviously the bag must be removed after ten days as the plants are a bit tender from the rapid growth spurt.

Hey all, great thread. I also have many tomato plants and did lots of cutting. My sucess rate was fair until I built my own "cloning machine" recently and so far Im getting great results - my clones look amazingly strong and seem to be very happy

Ive posted some info on the propogation forum, link here for some info on how I clone.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/propa/msg061339004341.html?8

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.TechnologyGarden.net

Micky, thanks for the explanation.

Perhaps its a climate thing but I promise, for me, setting up a terrarium that won't self destruct is a lot harder than getting tomato sucker to root.

Placing a cutting in a plastic bag is a very common and recommended procedure. Just look in any propagation book.
Doesn't relate to where one lives.

A cutting has no roots so it is important to maintin high humidity to prevent moisture loss. Of course you don't place it in the sun. In the house with some light is fine. Leave it open a bit to allow air flow.

Yes, tomatoes root easily so you can still have success without creating the humid conditions that help rooting, though I would guess it is easier with the bag but not necessary. A woody cutting definately needs a plastic bag.

Many links are available on how to propagate from cuttings- whether woody, herbaceous, etc. Most recommend some sort of 'mini greenhouse' , commercial operation 'mist' cuttings constantly for the same reason.

Link below:
Mother Earth (page 3 on propagaton) on keeping moisture around cutting

ANother link:

Picture of using plastic bag:
http://www.wikihow.com/Propagate-Your-Plants

Here is a link that might be useful: Mother Earth Propagation

Micky,

Now you have got my curiosity up. I have got to try this just to see for myself. However, if I get a rotting goo gob then I will not be happy ;-)

Greg

If you have a plant that seems to have slowed down and stopped growing (probably bugs? I found 2 stink bugs...) would it be safe to take cuttings from it? I can get them started indoors under plant lights and then harden them off, planning on getting them out in the garden in a different raised bed. I'm such a newbie I didn't realize you could do cuttings from tomato plants!

Mgpaguin,

I think you can because the problem is with the root system. Now if its a determinate plant I am not sure. What type of tomato is it?

Greg

Hi all, just an update on how my heirloom tomato cuttings are doing - GREAT! Below is a pic of one of the cuttings/clones I put in about 7 days ago. Root development started about 4.5 days in the cloning machine and they never showed even a sign of wilting. If anyone wants any advice or howto tips on cloning tomatoes this way, just give me a shout. Im very excited to get these to my friends for a late season crop - and I'll also be doing this before winter to move all my heirlooms inside for fresh tomatoes all year round!

{{gwi:1352401}}

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.TechnologyGarden.net

i do basically the same thing micky, only i don't use miracle grow or anything like that, just a ziplock baggie and water, or damp soil. i get roots in a few weeks. and new growth on my stuff i'm trying to root. absolutely love it@! i've always gotten root rot befor. but when i tried this "method" i got roots!!! YAY!!! LOL ohhh and don't forget the rooting hormone. LOL ~Medo

I've tried methods such as that in the past but never got 100% success rates, so I saw some of the EZ-CLone machines and a few homemade ones so I gave it a shot. So far in my 2 cloning attempts all of my 10 clones thrived in the cloning machine and are all now happy mature plants. I find that making your own cloning machine is well worth the small investment.

For those of you that are interested in making your own DIY cloning machine, you can find a new howto tutorial on my website - link on my profile

happy cloning!

-Eric
Technology Garden

I may have missed it, but I didn't notice anyone saying anything about using rooting hormone. I'm about to take cuttings from my Roma's to grow in my greenhouse over the winter. Should I use rooting hormone or is it not necessary? Thanks.

I may have missed it, but I didn't notice anyone saying anything about using rooting hormone. I'm about to take cuttings from my Roma's to grow in my greenhouse over the winter. Should I use rooting hormone or is it not necessary? Thanks.

*****

Rooting hormone for tomato cuttings is not needed b'c unlike many other kinds of plants they form roots from any stem that's in contact with soil, artificial or otherwise.

And it is best to root them in soil, not in water, but while I didn't read thru this whole thread again, I think that was mentioned already/

Carolyn

Thank you Carolyn.
Robin