How to Easily Root Tomato Suckers to Get Unlimited Free Plants

In this organic gardening video, Brian with California Garden TV covers how to root tomato suckers to produce unlimited FREE TOMATO PLANTS! Whether you are growing tomatoes in pots on a balcony, growing tomatoes in raised beds, or you have a homestead, these tips will help you produce more tomatoes and even get a second harvest this year.

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[lukedee]

I returned from a trip and found tons of suckers from one plant. I knew I could propagate them, but this video gave me excellent information on how to do this successfully. Now I've got 8 new tomato plants😃.

[caroleeh]

I took a sucker off, that was about 3 inches high, stuck it right in the ground, and it took off and started growing! So far, so good.

[suegiesige]

My first time growing Armenian cucumbers has been wonderful! They have no tough skin; have a cute daisy edge when sliced for dipping; stay crispier than cucumbers when pickled; grow like kudzu; and reproduce like bunnies!!! I have had no pest problems here in northwest Ohio, my only problem has been building the trellis bigger, bigger, and bigger as they explode. What fun!!!

[Jennifer]

I have 3 huge cherry tomato plants growing indoors under my grow lights. I propagated 2 of them from the first plant. 😊 Easiest things I've ever grown. No bugs, no fighting with neighborhood rodents over the fruit, can let them ripen fully on the vine. It's been great!

[AtlantaTerry]

There is one *huge* advantage of starting cuttings in soil as opposed to water - the water can go "bad" due to exposure to light. That won't happen with soil.

[judydogwork]

Over here in the UK, I have done this before. As our season is not that long, I've planted some cuttings at the end of the season (No later than Sept) and managed to keep the strongest ones going on a window sill over the winter. I've had to watch out for damping off and fungus and have lost some to this problem. When they got leggy, I kept trimming them back. Come late Feb or March, I re-potted and found they had a great head start on the seed sown plants. They also started to fruit especially early ! A great bonus.

[peterjford]

Ack, I pulled all the suckers off this morning. I know I'll get more so I will be a few weeks behind you. This is so much easier than trying to grow from seed for my late season harvest.

[heybebe]

I cloned a sucker from my Burpee Big Boy tomatoes. It was so simple and it's now growing beautifully in my raised bed garden. I plan on doing more, especially since watching this video.

[cigdemsentekin]

You can directly stick them into the soil in a pot or raised bed where you plan to plant at the end. As long as keep the soil moist and take care of it, it will do absolutely great 👍🏻

[Itshalieyy]

What a great episode! From now on, I'm never gonna look at suckers in a bad way. Of course, I'll still prune the ones I don't need. But free tomato seedlings from them? Who would have thought? Thanks so much for sharing!

[gardeningsimplified]

I just potted up 40 suckers from my Cherokee Purple tomatoes for a second crop, three days ago.

[AtlantaTerry]

The trick to tomato plants is to plant them DEEP in the ground - at least a foot or more.
Grow the seeds or cuttings in pots or 2 litre soft drink bottles until the plant is over 1 foot tall. Then trim off all the leaves, dig a deep hole and put the plant deep into the ground.

[davidl.williams]

As you said, Brian, the heat stopped the tomato blooms, but the plants grew too large in my tiny greenhouse. So I'm trying cutting back the indeterminate ones to the lowest branch where there is a shoot started. Seeing if I can get them to finish the season still fruiting with such a good root in place. I may do the same with the determinate ones in time, but for now, they are still fruiting. At 87 yrs old, I see no need to preserve the lineage of the old days 'mators. I never found any to compare taste-wise with Better Boy and Celebrity hybrids, anyway. I cook a 20+ lb turkey every year and cut it all up into sandwich size for the freezer. Nothing better or easier to fix for months of lunches. Turkey, 'mator, mayo, on sourdough toast with black coffee. Who could ask for more?

[johnjdumas]

I wait for a day that will be cloudy before a rainy day. I snip my sucker just as you do. I leave half as many leaves and immediately dig a deep hole, water, and place the sucker. The next day it rains. Within a week it is now a plant and it starts growing. Sometimes I may lose one but usually not. If I do I just repeat. I never transplant on sunny days. I suppose I could use shade cloth. I try not to let them go limp in the sun at any time.

[cubmtws]

I did the sucker method and the roots took fast in the glass of water I used. I didn’t have the glass outside but I recut the ends before parking them in the glass which sat in my kitchen (south facing); they were then planted in fabric planters that had lettuce. They seem super happy. Oh, and pruning it helpful!! My goodness, I have some tomatoes that are 9’ tall; I needed my step ladder to be able to tie them to extra-extended stakes. Holy moly!! 🤣

[lfoo]

Thank you for this! After learning (from you!) that I shouldn’t be pruning my Sweet 100, I went to the store to get some new plants. Guess what, there aren’t any left. Thank goodness, I still have a plant to clone from! 😊🍅💛

[madelineobrien]

When you pick the tomatoes for making pasta sauce, would you share your recipe with us?

[Shambolicoholic]

I always do this with indeterminate ones but this year I tried with a more determinate "patio" type. I wasn't even sure if it would work but I'm having some success, so far.

[silkysagitarian]

I do this all the time and I have a tomato garden!! I learned it when I was getting my transplants and the biggest one broke on its way home. I was devastated but I planted it. I was surprised to get an extra plant! I now do this and most of my friends do this now once I told them. Funny thing is even the leaves root!!

[garden_geek]

I rooted a bunch of my San Marzano suckers this year actually. I found the whole process was expedited if I put the sucker directly in the ground and provided it shade until it rooted. The plants seem to endure less shock and produce faster when I do it that way.

I actually just bought some Armenian cucumber seeds from Baker Creek. I’ll be planting those in a few days!