Tomatoes are at their best in summer when the juicy red fruits appear in abundance on the green vines. While they’re easy to enjoy straight from the supermarket or grocer, the cost can quickly add up over the course of just a few weeks. Instead, gardeners can secure their own long-lasting supply by following a gardening expert’s simple method.
Packets of fresh tomatoes will set shoppers back by around £1.98 per pack on average, with premium varieties costing in excess of £2 in some UK supermarkets.
While paying for the ease of buying them ready-to-eat is one advantage, savvy Instagram gardener @joesgarden.official explained that it’s really unnecessary at this time of year.
In a recent video on his page, the green-fingered expert demonstrated how cheap and easy it is to secure a “bountiful” crop “all summer long”. And it costs just £2.
Joe said: “Did you know you can use just one tomato plant from the store to give you an unlimited supply of fresh tomatoes?
“All you need to get started is only one cheap tomato plant from the store. Once you get it home grab a larger pot, pop in some good-quality soil, and plant out your tomato. Soon it will grow and then the magic happens.”
Small plug plants can be purchased from most garden centres for £2 or less, and are often called “tomato tumblers”.
To safely transplant the tumbler into a larger pot, carefully remove the moulded soil bed and stem from the container and create a well in the centre of the new soil.
Bury it loosely around and water well before leaving it to grow in a warm, sunny spot.
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According to Joe, the tomato should soon grow into a tall network of green stems.
At this point, the plant is ready to be duplicated by taking cuttings from the healthy vines.
The gardener said: “Locate a side shoot from the stem and branch and snip them all off.
“Place these cuttings in fresh water and soon, the roots will appear.”
For the best results, the cuttings should be taken with clean, sharp scissors to avoid damaging the plant.
The stems can be placed in the same cup of water to establish roots though gardeners should avoid overcrowding the container with too many.
A handful per glass should do. After the roots have formed, Joe recommended snipping off the lower branches on each rooted cutting before planting them out.
Each cutting will grow into a whole new plant, so should be given its own pot to thrive in.
When it comes to planting the small duplicate tomato stems, Joe recommended planting them “nice and deep” in “good soil”.
And the “magic” doesn’t stop there. According to the gardening expert, cuttings can continue to be taken from each established plant to repeat the process.
He said: “Continue to grow on these cuttings and very soon you’ll end up with a genetically identical tomato garden, giving you a bountiful harvest all summer long.”
Tomatoes love the sunshine so a position in full sun (average of at least eight hours a day), gives the best results in most areas.
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