Grafting Tomatoes

seedcorn

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Educate me. Except for the challenge, why would you graft an annual? Just use varieties that are good. (As you can tell I’m not a believer in the idea that heirlooms taste better than select hybrids.). San Marzano are the only heritage I plant and here they are very hardy.
 

MinnesotaGardening

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🛸

Really, it shouldn't have been mentioned ~ grimace ~

It's a dangerous world out there, my wrecked body is testimony to that.

Steve
Don't worry..I am aware of the potential problems associated with that graft. However, hypothetically, shouldn't grafted plant material maintain all of its own traits?
 

MinnesotaGardening

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Educate me. Except for the challenge, why would you graft an annual? Just use varieties that are good. (As you can tell I’m not a believer in the idea that heirlooms taste better than select hybrids.). San Marzano are the only heritage I plant and here they are very hardy.


Because I love my heirlooms! :love My loaded pantry and freezer are testament to the fact that I don't need more tomatoes, but I love to experiment and see what could be. It seems like a fairly straightforward process. (Although, I may completely fail. But even if I do, so what, it wouldnt be my first or last garden failure.) So why not try it? Besides, if I dont have to crawl around on the ground pinching off all of the little suckers to try to prevent spots on my plant leaves, I'm in!
 

Zeedman

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Don't worry..I am aware of the potential problems associated with that graft. However, hypothetically, shouldn't grafted plant material maintain all of its own traits?
Both sides of the graft retain their genetics... but they share sap. Consider what that could mean.
Educate me. Except for the challenge, why would you graft an annual? Just use varieties that are good. (As you can tell I’m not a believer in the idea that heirlooms taste better than select hybrids.). San Marzano are the only heritage I plant and here they are very hardy.
I agree that there is no point to grafting if a vegetable already does well unadulterated, other than curiosity & scientific experimentation. If I were to attempt grafting annuals, it would be to add or augment a new trait, such as heat/cold tolerance, insect/disease resistance, etc. Who knows, something unexpected might come out of the graft, such as a reduction in blossom end rot, or higher sugar content... or something negative, like bitterness. :sick It could also prove to be a way to provoke photoperiod sensitive plants to perform outside their normal range. That uncertainty is what makes experimenting fun. I certainly wouldn't put a lot of eggs into that basket, though.
 

digitS'

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This sort of thing can happen with transplanted organs.

It may be of real advantage for the person receiving an organ from a donor. The tendency for rejecting the "foreign" tissue may be lessened.

Steve
 

YourRabbitGirl

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Educate me. Except for the challenge, why would you graft an annual? Just use varieties that are good. (As you can tell I’m not a believer in the idea that heirlooms taste better than select hybrids.). San Marzano are the only heritage I plant and here they are very hardy.
Did you try to graft them outdoors? Grafted plants are not just useful in the greenhouse. Outside the grafted plants are also heavier. In fact, the grafted tomatoes are too vigorous for growing bags, the roots just don't have enough room. as per my personal experience.
 

seedcorn

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No, I don’t see the need. That’s why I need educated. I grow hardy varieties that bear well that I enjoy the flavor.
 

seedcorn

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Because I love my heirlooms! :love My loaded pantry and freezer are testament to the fact that I don't need more tomatoes, but I love to experiment and see what could be. It seems like a fairly straightforward process. (Although, I may completely fail. But even if I do, so what, it wouldnt be my first or last garden failure.) So why not try it? Besides, if I dont have to crawl around on the ground pinching off all of the little suckers to try to prevent spots on my plant leaves, I'm in!
I’d think out of over 15,000 varieties of tomatoes, I’d find several I liked that fit all my criteria. But agree, so what. If you enjoy it, do it. Carry on. :)
 

MinnesotaGardening

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Both sides of the graft retain their genetics... but they share sap. Consider what that could mean.

I agree that there is no point to grafting if a vegetable already does well unadulterated, other than curiosity & scientific experimentation. If I were to attempt grafting annuals, it would be to add or augment a new trait, such as heat/cold tolerance, insect/disease resistance, etc. Who knows, something unexpected might come out of the graft, such as a reduction in blossom end rot, or higher sugar content... or something negative, like bitterness. :sick It could also prove to be a way to provoke photoperiod sensitive plants to perform outside their normal range. That uncertainty is what makes experimenting fun. I certainly wouldn't put a lot of eggs into that basket, though.
Yea, I dont plan to pursue such a crazy graft as datura.

And disease resistance is what I'm going for with this grafting. I have some issues with spots/dropping of tomato foliage as the season progresses, and sometimes spots on the fruit.
 
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