2021 Veggie gardens

Thanks. That special grafted knife/scissors with an angle can be of great help.

Actually, I’ve planted the bottom tomato a week before the top one, and some top ones grow faster and bigger than the rootstock! It’s difficult to match the same size stems of the tops and the bottoms unless you have a lot of both, they don’t grow the same rate!

I’ve tried the 45° cut method, with slight movement, the top fell off. I’ve bought the magnifier lamp to double check if the stems were together.

My ideal way is to use this method.

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Photos credits greffer.net

I wonder if I can plant the stem deeply for the final transplant, does the “joint” has to be above the soil?

Is it possible to graft above the first pair of true leaves for the rootstock?

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I bought one of these

for building cables and finding faults on circuit boards. It’s been very useful. Since it’s powered by a USB connector I can use a USB battery (I have a couple for recharging my phone when I travel) to power it in places where power is remote.

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I’ve nearly the same one, except the clip, I’ve a stand, which I regret.

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What do you for the strawberries?

My plants (from seed) from last year - two in their own pots now (they were in tomato pots) and the third (well, it’s spread to 3 clusters) at the base of a potted citrus tree have revived themselves despite being ignored, and are fruiting. I finally spread some slug repellent pellets around the citrus group after a few berries were gnawed through!

Are those inverted containers intentional?

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Yes, not so effective ways to create barriers for the cats during winter, one of them like to dig up things. :rofl:

I’ve some younger plants in another bed developed by the runner system, I want to put some of them in these pots to replace the dead ones. Yes, slug repellent pellets are necessary as well.

I’ve never tried from seeds. I’ve heard it’s quite difficult.

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Naf, it’s very important not to bury the graft union, where the two plants join. Also, remove any shoots that form under the graft union. There are invisible, dormant buds on the under stock, where the seed leaves, cotyledons, meet the stem.

With the angle-cut method, the silicone clips gently pinch and hold the parts together. I have several sizes of these clips. It is very delicate work and requires practice and not too much coffee! I’m cutting below the cotyledons so there are no shoots to remove. However, you are right that this makes the graft union close to the soil and when planting, I must be careful to keep this above ground. Fortunately, the under stock plants are so vigorous, they do not need to be planted deeply.

This year, I’m skipping grafting tomatoes since I want to try one new to me, “Blue Beech”, an Italian heirloom. I want to see what it does on its own roots first and check the flavor. I just repotted 30 seedlings and hope to plant the strongest 20–25.

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Coffee would clash with a glass of wine. grin

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Wow, @naf, that looks almost surgical! Is be so afraid of killing my little plants. I just moved some of my plants outside today, and transplanted my young tomato and radish pants into the ground. I was desperately trying to not be rough with them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them got too roughed up ( I’m not good at being gentle, especially with gardening gloves on). My poor radish plants are all flopped over and look kind of dead. :confounded:

Edit: But a pleasant surprise (for me; I know others might think otherwise), that I found a bunny nest in my Chinese chives. :pleading_face: Bunnies coming into my yard is not unusual, and last year they made a nest in front yard. I’ve been seeing 2-3 bunnies in my garden almost every night this year, and guess I now know why.

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You’ll have a few dozens at the end of the year. LOL!

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For the grafted tomatoes operated 10 days ago, 1 out of 3 succeed. It’s still a bit droopy under the light.

For the other 2 grafted plants, one problem comes with the bottom host plant withered, transplant rejection between 2 plants, I guess. The other one, the top grows some root on the bottom host’s stem wall but becomes detached from the host plant, not enough fluid is provided to the top, I re-cut the plants and renewed the operation.

I’ve tried other techniques… on some new ones. Hope they’ll work better. So far, I find the flat cut technique doesn’t work very well for me, as after a day or 2, both plants move and they become detached easily even the clip. Now, I plant the top inside the bottom plant.

@bogman If roots are coming out at the graft union, should one just leave them?

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Naf, any roots near or above the union need to be removed. Often, those will dry up once the plants is out of the humidity chamber.

When grafting, it may be helpful to think of cutting two pieces of pipe. When reassembling, it’s important that the walls of the pipes match as closely as possible. The walls represent the “Vascular zone” of the stem, where water and nutrients flow up and down the plant.

While the match of vascular zone does not have to be perfect, if there is no match, the chances for a successful graft is minimal. The stems should be about the same thickness; you can go up or down on the top part “scion” to achieve this.

Another popular method splits the bottom “stock” a little and the top “scion”, where it is cut, is shaped into a “V”. Though the top edge of the split stock is exposed, the sides of the split stem makes the match of vascular cells to the scion. This is very tricky in tomatoes, as the split stem is weak.

There is another tomato grafting method called “Side Grafting”. Because one uses larger seedlings, it may be easier for many folks to try. Here’s a very good writeup on the technique, from Johnny’s Seeds.

In tomatoes, it’s harder to see that there is a ring of vascular tissues. In trees, it’s easier to see.

Practice is very helpful. The more one gets trained to be quick and precise, the easier it gets.

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Thanks for taking time to explain. I see what you mean now and understand why younger seedlings are better for this.

I’ve a look at side grafting, interesting as the roots of both plants preserved until they are ready. Tried the V cut scion method, they kept falling due to the weak stem and the weight of the leaves.

Since I’ve plugged the top of the cut rootstocks back in the soil, they should have roots by now, I can practise more on younger seedlings. Now my whole living room is filled of these domes filled with seedlings . :laughing:

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Updates.

The balcony garden is doing well so far, and I’ve already got a good supply of lettuce - some of which is bolting already and what the hell is up with that - arugula, rosemary, mint and cilantro. One of the tomatoes (Bloody Butcher) is flowering, as are the cukes, which are veiled in a probably futile attempt to keep them safe from beetles and the resultant bacterial wilt.

garden

lettuce

tomato

rosemary

peppers

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The wife now has a 16X16 space for her garden, I’m expecting quite the bounty this year!!

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Very nice! I am jealous.

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Sweet!

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You may have to pollinate the cucumber flowers manually if nothing else can get in and do it once they start blooming. Just sayin’

I always do, anyway. With a skinny makeup brush.

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Strawberries are happening!

The seeds that produced a couple of berries last year at the base of a citrus tree have grown around the rest of the base and are fruiting.

Only a few ripe berries every day though :joy:

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