what is grafting & why do we do it?
In its simplest terms, grafting is combining a scion to a chosen rootstock.
Grafting offers an increase in yield, which is especially important for small-scale farming. Rootstocks provide a minimum of 20% increase in yield. At a maximum (depending on conditions) you can get a 60% increase in yield. Grafting also can create healthier plants.
Granted, this is all dependent on if you’re growing inside vs outside, what your soil conditions are like, weather, etc.
Many Growers don’t graft because it’s risky, time-consuming and if unsuccessful could set you back over a month. The healing process from grafting adds an additional 2 weeks to the DTM (date to maturity) from seed to harvest. We graft to maximize production on our small farm, have better yield, short growing season, and have better disease resistance.
what is grafting?
Rootstock varieties provide a root system for whatever variety of plant you wish to grow, from tomatoes & cucumbers to apples and lemons (tomatoes in this case). Rootstocks are chosen to fit the specific needs of your growing conditions and production goals.
For example, there are rootstocks bred to have tough, vigorous root systems that have the ability to uptake higher amounts of nutrients for the plant to thrive but may not have the best-tasting fruits. There are also rootstocks that are bred for disease-resistant, drought-tolerant, long season bearing, and even combinations of these characteristics.
We have a short growing season where we are in upstate New York, so we are looking for plants that have vigorous root systems and can collect as many nutrients in a small amount of time.
how do we graft tomato plants?
Rootstock tomatoes generally are slow to germinate, so we start those first. Scion tomatoes (top of the plant that will produce fruit) will be seeded a few days after the rootstock. After about two weeks when both are at a similar stage of growth, we’ll cut, swap, heal, and Frankenstein together a new hybrid plant!
Step 1.
Using a fresh razor, cut your rootstock plants at a 45-degree angle, about 1 inch from the soil line, and then dispose of (preferably compost) the top of the rootstock as it will not be used.
Step 2.
Take your chosen scion of similar size (very important to choose plants that have similar or identical stalk diameter), cut the stem at the same 45-degree angle.
Step 3.
Join the two plants together using a grafting clip & adjust to make sure that there is no gap between the two cuts. If the tomato plant is leaning or tilting, you can use a small stick, straw, or toothpick for additional support.
Step 4.
Spray plants with water to keep them cool and moist. Place newly grafted plants in a humidity dome or any kind of covered container that can retain moisture. Maintain temperatures between 75 and 80 degrees by using a heating pad or mat, and black out the dome with a blanket or towel. This will keep the scion (top) alive during the healing process while that plant is missing its original roots. You can think of this stage as if the plant is in the ICU and needs to conserve all of its energy to heal itself. Hence the reason for blacking out the dome and pausing the photosynthesis.
Step 5.
Closely monitor the plants for the next two days and maintain humidity by spraying them with water and keeping a relatively tight seal. After the two days, inspect to see if any of the plants are sad and droopy. If they are, give them a spray and another day to continue the healing process.
Step 6.
Once you’re confident the grafted plants are not drooping, partially uncover them with half-light to slowly begin reintroducing them to full sun after two more days (4 days since grating) After another 2 days (4-5 days since grafting) you fully uncover but leave the dome on to keep humidity levels high. At this point, you can expose your plants to full sun when you feel they’re healed enough to live outside of the humidity dome.
***Note there is no set time on how long each step of the process will take, sometimes it takes a Grower’s intuition to know if a plant needs a bit more time to heal***
fun facts and tips from White Feather:
Fun Facts:
We grafted over 300 tomato plants in two days, which is over 70% of our tomato production. We will be doing a side-by-side comparison of the plants we grafted vs the plants we didn’t. 93% of our grafted plants survived!
You can graft almost any plant. It’s an age-old method of combining different varietals and also repairing or saving a plant. You can even use tomato rootstocks to graft to other types of plants. For example, you can graft a cucumber scion (top) to a tomato rootstock.
Tips when Grafting:
-make sure your stems line up
-make sure your clip is tightly secured
-watch your pants closely
-listen to good tunes while your grafting, we swear it helps the survival rate!
