I have just learned about grafting tomato plants. I have a real disease
problem with early blight and understand grafting tomato plants to eggplants
or other rootstock which have a much higher resistance to blight produces
highly resistant tomato plants. Does anyone have any experience with this
technique? I'm going to give it a go this spring so any tips would be
greatly appreciated.

JEM

Jim Marrs wrote:

I have just learned about grafting tomato plants. I have a real disease
problem with early blight and understand grafting tomato plants to eggplants
or other rootstock which have a much higher resistance to blight produces
highly resistant tomato plants. Does anyone have any experience with this
technique? I'm going to give it a go this spring so any tips would be
greatly appreciated.

JEM

Dive right in if you'd like. I did this to create a 'pomato' many years
ago (potato root, tomato top). Out of six grafts one took, but it died
before setting either fuit or root. It was fun but I wouldn't call it a
success.

I've had big problems with tomatoes when I've tried to grow them on the
same patch of ground two years running. Rotate your patch, don't
compost dead vines, pull up and dispose of any roots and buy disease
resitant varieties. I know it's anathema but I had nothing but pest and
disease problems until I started disposing of - not recycling - my veg
garden litter. There are plenty of other disease free sources of
organic matter.
--
Mike Harris
Austin 78702

Thanks for your advise. I have tried the rotation technique and practice it
as much as possible and don't ever compost my old tomato plants. I grow so
much in my limited space, I believe that short of replacing all my soil (I
am actually considering do it) there are so many sources of blight, that
the battle seems hopeless. Developing more resistant plants seems like it
may be the best alternative. It will be a fun experiment even if most of my
grafts fail. I have already purchased the little clips used for the process.
I am going to wait just a little longer for the weather to warm up. I have a
small greenhouse but I don't enjoy the expense of maintaining 70-85 degrees
24-7.

JEM

"harriswest" wrote in message
...
Jim Marrs wrote:

I have just learned about grafting tomato plants. I have a real disease
problem with early blight and understand grafting tomato plants to
eggplants
or other rootstock which have a much higher resistance to blight produces
highly resistant tomato plants. Does anyone have any experience with this
technique? I'm going to give it a go this spring so any tips would be
greatly appreciated.

JEM

Dive right in if you'd like. I did this to create a 'pomato' many years
ago (potato root, tomato top). Out of six grafts one took, but it died
before setting either fuit or root. It was fun but I wouldn't call it a
success.

I've had big problems with tomatoes when I've tried to grow them on the
same patch of ground two years running. Rotate your patch, don't
compost dead vines, pull up and dispose of any roots and buy disease
resitant varieties. I know it's anathema but I had nothing but pest and
disease problems until I started disposing of - not recycling - my veg
garden litter. There are plenty of other disease free sources of
organic matter.
--
Mike Harris
Austin 78702

Jim Marrs wrote:

Thanks for your advise. I have tried the rotation technique and practice it
as much as possible and don't ever compost my old tomato plants. I grow so
much in my limited space, I believe that short of replacing all my soil (I
am actually considering do it) there are so many sources of blight, that
the battle seems hopeless. Developing more resistant plants seems like it
may be the best alternative. It will be a fun experiment even if most of my
grafts fail. I have already purchased the little clips used for the process.
I am going to wait just a little longer for the weather to warm up. I have a
small greenhouse but I don't enjoy the expense of maintaining 70-85 degrees
24-7.

Jim,

Oh. That kind of blight. Not soil borne but fungal. The greenhouse is
a new factor. They will encourage blight particularly during the mild
winter we've been having. The damp is the killer. Even in cool humid
weather a poorly ventilated greenhouse can spread blight. Have you been
growing tomatoes indoors in the summer months, or is this your winter
crop?

Ventilate well; use a fungicide - copper sulfate works well and is
arguably organic, according to the USDA at least. Wipe the interior
walls of your greenhouse with a weak bleach solution, 1/4 c per gallon,
so that condensation doesn't drip spores onto your plants. Sanitize
tools in a similar solution. If nothing else, remove all blighted
growth, ventilate well and hope for the best - tomatoes can simply
outgrow a lot of diseases.G

Let us know how the grafting turns out. It *was* a lot of fun,
definitely a bit of the old Doktor Frankenstein.

Mike Harris
Austin, TX

No, I just use the green house while starting the plants. They go outside as
soon as possible. I bring them back in if we have a cold snap. I tried
growing a few plants but the green house is not cooled and it gets much too
hot during the summer months to grow much of anything. I mainly use the
green house to preserve plants and citrus trees during the winter months.

JEM
"harriswest" wrote in message
...
Jim Marrs wrote:

Thanks for your advise. I have tried the rotation technique and practice
it
as much as possible and don't ever compost my old tomato plants. I grow
so
much in my limited space, I believe that short of replacing all my soil
(I
am actually considering do it) there are so many sources of blight, that
the battle seems hopeless. Developing more resistant plants seems like it
may be the best alternative. It will be a fun experiment even if most of
my
grafts fail. I have already purchased the little clips used for the
process.
I am going to wait just a little longer for the weather to warm up. I
have a
small greenhouse but I don't enjoy the expense of maintaining 70-85
degrees
24-7.

Jim,

Oh. That kind of blight. Not soil borne but fungal. The greenhouse is
a new factor. They will encourage blight particularly during the mild
winter we've been having. The damp is the killer. Even in cool humid
weather a poorly ventilated greenhouse can spread blight. Have you been
growing tomatoes indoors in the summer months, or is this your winter
crop?

Ventilate well; use a fungicide - copper sulfate works well and is
arguably organic, according to the USDA at least. Wipe the interior
walls of your greenhouse with a weak bleach solution, 1/4 c per gallon,
so that condensation doesn't drip spores onto your plants. Sanitize
tools in a similar solution. If nothing else, remove all blighted
growth, ventilate well and hope for the best - tomatoes can simply
outgrow a lot of diseases.G

Let us know how the grafting turns out. It *was* a lot of fun,
definitely a bit of the old Doktor Frankenstein.

Mike Harris
Austin, TX