What are Grafted Tomatoes

• Grafting produces growth and fruiting of one plant on the rootstock of another.
• Currently over half of tomatoes grown commercially in the UK have been produced on grafted stock
• Grafted veg will grow when the days are shorter and the weather is cooler so they are easier to grow outdoors
• Tomatoes are very tender perennial plants and stand up well to grafting

Suttons and Dobies

• Suttons of seed fame are contacting all there trade customers with a new product offering for sale in 2012. ‘ Turbo veg’ are claiming up to 75% more crop from the Grafted Tomato plants that they will be offering for sale.
• 4 varieties including ‘Elegance’ and ‘Zebrino’ will be available using a new process that grafts above the first true leaf not below the cotyledons as most currently available grafts are.
• Suttons have identified a rootstock that has vigor and disease resistance missing from the scion (graftee). It claims to have greater vigour, higher yield, longer cropping and better disease and pest resistance.
• Following success with tomatoes you may want to try grafted Sweet and Chilli Peppers, Cucumbers, Melons and Aubergines
• Two plum-fruited varieties ‘Dasher’ and ‘Sunorange’ are available on one plant! Not my cup of tea!

See our Tips for growing tasty Tomatoes

You can learn to graft your own tomatoes from watching this you tube video (but why would you want too?)

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH Tomato by photon_de, on Flickr under creative commons license 2.0