seedjar
Let's positive thinking!
So, I've got several seasons of tomato gardening under my belt but this is the first year that I haven't been limited to containers. I'm also trying peppers and a boatload of others for the first time. I'm looking for tips and tricks for pruning, propagating, etc.
I know about planting deep to encourage roots, and planting sideways to get roots and extra stalks. Can this technique be extended to turn one lanky start into several compact ones? I'm thinking a section of stalk could be buried in a loose mix until it made offshoots, then cut into pieces and rooted as individuals. Anybody know what the chances are of this working? Annuals always seem so transitive and fragile to me.
Similarly, a lot of my early starts are already flowering. I'm letting some go to fruit now, but the plants all seem pretty small and I'm pinching most to try and get them bigger. (Most of them are indeterminate and none of them are adult size yet.) If I were to top my taller plants, could I root the cuttings for late summer/fall crop plants? Would this mess up the parent plants? Can I take cuttings mid-summer to grow indoors/in a greenhouse later in the year?
I had some slug damage shortly after planting, so I've pulled all of the low and/or damaged leaves and stems. I didn't have much of a choice before, but what's the rule of thumb for pruning these guys?
Thanks,
~Joe
I know about planting deep to encourage roots, and planting sideways to get roots and extra stalks. Can this technique be extended to turn one lanky start into several compact ones? I'm thinking a section of stalk could be buried in a loose mix until it made offshoots, then cut into pieces and rooted as individuals. Anybody know what the chances are of this working? Annuals always seem so transitive and fragile to me.
Similarly, a lot of my early starts are already flowering. I'm letting some go to fruit now, but the plants all seem pretty small and I'm pinching most to try and get them bigger. (Most of them are indeterminate and none of them are adult size yet.) If I were to top my taller plants, could I root the cuttings for late summer/fall crop plants? Would this mess up the parent plants? Can I take cuttings mid-summer to grow indoors/in a greenhouse later in the year?
I had some slug damage shortly after planting, so I've pulled all of the low and/or damaged leaves and stems. I didn't have much of a choice before, but what's the rule of thumb for pruning these guys?
Thanks,
~Joe