Tomatoes- using side shoots for extra plants

[Bigmallly]

It's common practice Gayle, especially if you only have 1 or 2 of a particular variety. I'll be doing it with my black plum as only 1 seed has germinated.

[weed]

i am now feeling very stupid for throwing side shoots away on the plus side i have just learnt my first lesson from this forum but is it just water in the milk bottle or a rooting solution of some sort thank you in advance

[veggiechicken]

Just water - no magic potions
Whenever I remove the sideshoots I stick them in water, its a bit of an obsession. They root very easily.

[Zelenina]

Just water is fine, weed. I rooted a shoot off a Tiger Tom plant last year, just before all my tomato plants got assassinated by late blight. And I've managed to keep it going indoors overwinter. It's a rather messy looking plant with lots of shoots, and a few flowers already. So I'll probably take some more shoots off it for the garden. I'm glad to have it because it's quite a rare variety from the Heritage Seed Library and I don't think I have any more seeds.

[weed]

well i will be joining the tomato shoot club this year i will also try other things too cheers all

[Potstubsdustbins]

AS others have said just water, but keep the bottle topped up daily. The roots will form up to the water level, but if they are exposed to air they will die back.

[veggiechicken]

Just to confuse you, on here we call the sideshoots "armpits" as they're taken from the "armpit" of the tomato.

[NopyKnobbler999]

Tomatoe Cuttings From Side Shoots

I took some cuttings off my tomatos last year using 4 to 6 inch side shoots. Either use 1 cutting per pot or as I did about 6 dibbed into a 6 inch black pot, a black pot is better cause it absorbs the heat giving a better micro climate for root development. Simply place the pot out of direct sunlight and keep the compost moist then rooting should take no longer than a few weeks. Pot on, leave till established then put into final position and grow on as normal. These new plants fruit every bit as good with the added advantage that they usually get their first truss much lower down the stem than those grown from seed giving 1 or 2 more trusses before stopping occurs.
When selecting the parent plant make sure they are strong and healthy as any diseases will be passed on to the cutting.

[Kristen]

Mine, sown in early February and grown under lights, are still not advanced enough to take a side-shoot cutting ... but I'll keep you posted

[lyndonj]

So does everyone put their side shoots in water or can you plant them directly into compost in pots to get them root

[PyreneesPlot]

I put mine straight into compost and I'm pretty certain they always take.
I take the pot with the compost to the plant so the armpits come off and go straight into a pot and then get watered immediately and put in the shade.

[Bren In Pots]

I put mine in water until I see some root growth.

[Yasai]

Thanks for the reminder because my red cherries are ridiculously leggy so I'll be doing this too. Brain like asieve so thanks

[lyndonj]

Thanks everyone for the replies, I put 2 in water and 1 in compost

[cristalfiona]

Like an idiot I actually went and picked all mine off my two biggest plants yesterday, they got put into the compost bin! Then I saw this thread today. I guess I'll just have to wait until the others catch up and use those instead.