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Old March 14, 2019   #16
DapsSeeds
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Not at all. But maybe that's because our biggest problem is late blight, and I don't think grafting would make much of a difference. I never had any other problems with my plants than blight and BER. Would love to try grafting some day. Just for fun.
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Old March 14, 2019   #17
jtjmartin
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I'm loving the thinner razor blades I ordered for grafting last year. They seem to slice better and crush or destroy tissue less. The blades are very thin and flexible.

https://www.amazon.com/SHARK-Super-S...gateway&sr=8-3

Jeff
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Old March 14, 2019   #18
zendog
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Last year I grafted to the rootstocks right below the cotyledons and with the grafts relatively low and so much rain last year I had to keep an eye out for the plants trying to root out from the stems just above the graft. I'm thinking of grafting higher up this year. Besides having to watch out for suckers from the rootstock, any other downsides to that? Any problems getting good grafts or any other issues?
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Old March 14, 2019   #19
jtjmartin
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I have not had any problems as long as the cotyledon stems are shaved off so that the grafting clip fits tight.

Jeff
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Old March 21, 2019   #20
beetkvass
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People here barely garden. It's unusual if someone starts from seed let alone grafting. I have one friend who tried grafting once while getting her master gardener's status. This is only my first year trying. I did my first batch yesterday.

Tomato disease has been SO bad the last few years here I'm just desperate to get some tomatoes that grow and do well for a while. The last few years I get plants that start dying shortly after we get a few ripe tomatoes. It's not even worth the effort to grow plants that produce so little.
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Old March 21, 2019   #21
b54red
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beetkvass View Post
People here barely garden. It's unusual if someone starts from seed let alone grafting. I have one friend who tried grafting once while getting her master gardener's status. This is only my first year trying. I did my first batch yesterday.

Tomato disease has been SO bad the last few years here I'm just desperate to get some tomatoes that grow and do well for a while. The last few years I get plants that start dying shortly after we get a few ripe tomatoes. It's not even worth the effort to grow plants that produce so little.
Grafting won't help with foliage diseases but if you have soil problems then it can make a world of difference. I used to grow a wide variety of heirlooms and a goodly portion of hybrids like Big Beef for insurance so if the soil problems were especially bad then I could at least have some decent tomatoes. Eventually the soil problems got so bad that even Big Beef would not survive them so I tried some of the super hybrids like the commercial growers around here were using. They did pretty good but they were generally of such poor eating quality that the difference between them and the grocery store tomatoes was insignificant.

After resisting grafting for years I finally gave it a try and the results were far better than I thought possible. I still had the same abundant foliage diseases and pests but no longer did my tomatoes wither and die from fusarium wilt which is rampant in this area of the state. It was amazing to have plants last the full tomato season right through to first frost. Of course some died from just plain old age but at least half my plants lasted from mid March into early November which was unheard of down here. There was one soil disease that still popped up every year and that was Bacterial Wilt and it could be quite devastating to a good portion of my plants some years. When I found RST-04-106 about 5 years ago BW was pretty much a thing of the past at least so far.

I liked RST-04-106 for several reasons. It was resistant to all three types of fusarium wilt which was the biggest tomato growing problem here and also resistant to nematodes. The bonus resistance to BW was a real and unexpected plus. It isn't very vegetative which cuts down on the amount of pruning and frequency of supporting the plants grafted onto some of the other root stocks I tried. When I was using some of the other root stocks at the same time I found that I had greater numbers with RST and slightly quicker fruit set.

Like any other root stock I found that a few varieties did not do as well with RST as with some of the others and with some varieties the fruit would be somewhat smaller. With most varieties I didn't see any difference in fruit size but I did see substantial increases in the number of fruits with many varieties. Overall I think it is as close to a perfect root stock as possible for this area of the country plagued by fusarium, nematodes and BW. I am willing to try another because I enjoy experimenting with various combinations and would like to find a root stock that works with some of the varieties that don't thrive with RST-04-106. So far I haven't found another root stock that is as compatible with so many varieties and that has the unique disease resistance that is needed down here.

As far as I know I am the only person grafting around here but I could be wrong. Most of the gardeners just plant what is available from Bonnies and most end their season in July while I continue getting fruit right through the sweltering summer and fall. I do know most commercial growers grow varieties that are resistant to most soil diseases and even some that are supposedly resistant to TSWV; but the taste leaves a lot to be desired.

Bill
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Old March 21, 2019   #22
decherdt
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I was discouraged when grating did not increase frost tolerance
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500 sq ft of raised rows zone 8a
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Old March 21, 2019   #23
Scooty
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Originally Posted by Greatgardens View Post
It's such a pain, at least to me. I'd much rather start a few hybrids like Big Beef and Celebrity and Orange Wellington. Also adding Damsel and Stellar this year.
This. It's a trouble because of greater time allotment required and whether you're selling or doing for your own garden, you need to factor in graft failures.

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Originally Posted by Patapsco Mike View Post
I saw grafted tomatoes for sale for $10 each at Home Depot in Ellicott City Maryland two years ago. I hadn't read much about it and wasn't willing to pay that crazy price. Little did I know I'd be grafting my own two years later!
Part of the problem is that it's hard to put a value on grafting, because there's so little guarantee. Your growing microclimate, the years weather, watering, sunlight already make yields so variable that people have a hard time attributing a year's success specifically to grafting, even when it is a huge or the major reason for that year's success.

It's different for people that require grafting in area's with high disease pressure. They can't even expect a mater to survive to 2 feet without a graft.

It's much like organic (by that I mean resource investment). What is the price point at which an organic tomato is worth it's price? Would you be willing to pay 70% more? 50%? 40%? 30%

I'd ask the same about grafted tomato. For say a 20% boost in yield, more consistent yield, and or better disease resistance, what would you be willing to pay?
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Old March 26, 2019   #24
beetkvass
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I posted some pics of tomatoes a couple of years ago and was told I probably had early blight but also possibly verticillium or fusarium. We have high disease pressure here in North GA. So I was just trying to go with whatever would prevent most disease. I need some more suggestions for preventing early blight too. But I went with the RST-04-106 rootstock. And am just trying to get some grafting off the ground.

I found mold in the healing chamber last night though. Green mold on the skewers not algae. Any suggestions? I'm not sure of how quickly to acclimate things out of the healing chamber and would love any suggestions I can get. Thanks!
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Old March 26, 2019   #25
Scooty
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beetkvass View Post
I posted some pics of tomatoes a couple of years ago and was told I probably had early blight but also possibly verticillium or fusarium. We have high disease pressure here in North GA. So I was just trying to go with whatever would prevent most disease. I need some more suggestions for preventing early blight too. But I went with the RST-04-106 rootstock. And am just trying to get some grafting off the ground.

I found mold in the healing chamber last night though. Green mold on the skewers not algae. Any suggestions? I'm not sure of how quickly to acclimate things out of the healing chamber and would love any suggestions I can get. Thanks!
Some else mentioned it. One hour in one hour out.

Or get a proper propagation dome for your seed tray. if you can't be bothered building a healing chamber.

Also for your neck of the woods, I'd ask Darel/Fusion_Power. He's on TMV, but I forgot his username. He's a great resource for grafting for Georgia/Alabama problems.

Last edited by Scooty; March 26, 2019 at 03:15 PM.
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Old March 26, 2019   #26
zendog
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Originally Posted by Scooty View Post
Or get a proper propagation dome for your seed tray. if you can't be bothered building a healing chamber.
That's what I'm using this year, but they don't fit very tightly on the 1020 trays I'm using. I'm hoping the humidity will stay high enough.

I mentioned in the other grafting thread that I had good success with just slowly opening the healing chamber little by little over a series of days so that the humidity dropped gradually bit by bit. With these domes I plan to open the top ports slowly over a few days, then lift one edge up a bit, etc. until I can take them off completely. I tried going "cold turkey" for a little bit at a time, but it was too stressful to see them get wilty each time.
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Old March 26, 2019   #27
Scooty
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Originally Posted by zendog View Post
That's what I'm using this year, but they don't fit very tightly on the 1020 trays I'm using. I'm hoping the humidity will stay high enough.

I mentioned in the other grafting thread that I had good success with just slowly opening the healing chamber little by little over a series of days so that the humidity dropped gradually bit by bit. With these domes I plan to open the top ports slowly over a few days, then lift one edge up a bit, etc. until I can take them off completely. I tried going "cold turkey" for a little bit at a time, but it was too stressful to see them get wilty each time.
How are your temps?
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Old March 26, 2019   #28
zendog
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How are your temps?
About 70 degrees.
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Old March 27, 2019   #29
beetkvass
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooty View Post
Some else mentioned it. One hour in one hour out.

Or get a proper propagation dome for your seed tray. if you can't be bothered building a healing chamber.

Also for your neck of the woods, I'd ask Darel/Fusion_Power. He's on TMV, but I forgot his username. He's a great resource for grafting for Georgia/Alabama problems.
I'll look him up. I don't know what you mean by "can't be bothered building a healing chamber". I am using the large clear plastic bins from Walmart recommended in the other grafting thread. They have a lot more room than the propagation dome listed above. I've never seen the propagation dome before. It looks nice. But it wouldn't fit over what my tomatoes are being started in either.
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Old May 17, 2019   #30
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I saw grafted tomatoes for sale for $10 each at Home Depot in Ellicott City Maryland two years ago. I hadn't read much about it and wasn't willing to pay that crazy price. Little did I know I'd be grafting my own two years later!
They are overcharging you badly in the USA.

I can get grafted tomato plants for £2 each in the UK.

Organic as well but there is £5 delivery charge on top and limited varieties,

Say if I bought 10 it would work out at about $30 so $3 each
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