Unlimited Tomato Plants! For Free??

How many of us have been taught to prune back the suckers on their tomato plants? Now, how many have been taught that the sucker you just pruned can be replanted and will grow into another fruiting tomato plant?

That's right! That sucker you just picked off your established tomato plant can be replanted and will grow to provide you with even more tomatoes! And the suckers from the replanted sucker? More tomato plants! The featured photo shows a baby rainbow heirloom tomato growing from a sucker I had pruned and replanted last month!

If you've read this far and have no idea what a sucker is, I'll explain.  A sucker is basically another tomato plant trying to form itself out of the current tomato plant.  These baby plants will start to grow in the "crotch" of the main vine and a leaf.  These little guys sneak by the eyes of beginner growers very often as they disguise themselves as a normal part of the plant.  If your tomato plants have looked more like bushes instead of vines in the past, that's because you were over run with suckers. Suckers got their name for a reason.  They suck the life out of the main vine.  If not pruned, suckers will siphon energy your vine needs to grow, flower, and produce tomatoes as they grow bigger and bigger.  A sucker will not flower and fruit while growing off of it's host vine, but, when pruned properly and replanted, it will root itself into the ground and grow into producing tomato vine.  Below are two examples of suckers growing from the "crotch" of a tomato plant. 

Now, there is a bit of an art to this trick, but it's not difficult.  This trick is something that I've integrated into my gardening practices to add to my bounty and extend my harvest.  While most will pick a sucker while it's barely a half inch, I wait until it's grown to at least 5 inches or more.  No, it won't take too much energy away from the established tomato vine at that time. At this size, the sucker will be strong enough to withstand the shock of being pruned and replanted and will have enough energy and strength to sprout roots and get itself going in its new home.  

I simply snip the sucker off as close to the "crotch" it's growing from generally with just my finger nails, but, if it's a thicker dude, I'll use some garden clippers.  You want to make sure the blades are clean when you do this to prevent any bacteria or fungus from infecting your plant.  Once you've pruned the sucker, you want to trim off the bottom set of established fan leaves.  Established fan leaves will drop to a right angle from the vine when mature, this is why I wait to prune my suckers.  Once you have a clean stem of about 4 inches, grab a stick and poke it into the soil to make a hole to place the sucker in.  You want the sucker in the ground about 3 to 4 inches so that it has a large surface area to establish roots (tomatoes are vines and the further down you plant the stem, the more roots they will establish).  Gently press the dirt around the newly planted sucker and make sure to be easy when patting the soil down--you want to secure the plant, but you don't want to hurt it.  Lastly, water the plant in to make sure you rid of any air pockets in the soil as these will leave room for bacteria and pests to destroy your new plant.  

Young sucker after pruning it's leaves back and replanting

You may notice your baby tomato plant being a little droopy in the next day or two--that's expected! It's just in a bit of shock from it's recent life events! That's why I say it's best to wait until they're a good size before pruning.  Don't panic and assume it needs more water--overwatering tomato plans is just as dangerous as over watering! Give the new plant a few days to a week to adjust before watering again.  Once the dude is established and growing strong, keep an eye out for the suckers that will inevitably grow on him! 

That's how you get free, unlimited tomato plants!