DON’T THROW your tomato suckers into the compost pile! You can turn them into FREE tomato plants and in this episode I’ll show you just how easy it is! PLUS,…
Video Rating: 5 / 5
Question by Tina W: I want to start my own tomato plants from seeds at home.?
I want to start my own tomato plants and flowers from seeds this year. Do I have to have natural sunlight on them or can I do something in the basement with the lights on them? I have more space in the basement.
thanks
Best answer:
Answer by Ninky Nonk—In the Night Garden
Yes,you can use HID lamps like Metal halide(blue) or Sodium(orange).For best results you should use around 400w per square metre.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Yes I got a good late crop out of the grow bags with the suckers. I wish I hadn’t waited until June to start doing that last year 😉
Did you ever get any tomatoes off of the sucker plants?
Mine are indoors, but not direct sunlight. I will try your idea on my next ones. meantime, I looked just today and am getting the first root hairs, so I guess the light could slow down the rooting progress.
I still have many more suckers to prune, too.
Nice reminder. I remember as a child my father would use the old glass Pepsi bottles to root his tomato suckers in water…the narrow neck of the bottle made it a perfect shaped vessel to do this.
Sideways is actually how my father showed me to plant them. Kinda gotten away from that though.
That’s right. It’s why a lot of people prune away branches/leaves at the bottom of the tomato plant, after planting, and add soil so that it develops a better root system. Others will actually plant them sideways in a trench and leave just the top leaves above the soil.
Hmmm. I lightly scored the side (to stimulate root growth) and kept it under a tree. I don’t think direct sunlight is good for roots.
Some people also use root hormone powder. They take the sucker, dip it in the powder, and then put it in water/soil. I’ve never done that though.
I have cut off 3 suckers right now. had them in water for 5 days now, but no roots yet.
So you can clone off of a stem? It doesn’t have to be a sucker does it?
Excellent point!
Hey Reaganite, good video there
Hey you can also take some small branches from willow trees and soak em overnight in a bucket. Instant natural rooting hormone 
Ok thanks I’ll try that
Try a mixture of 1/3 compost, 1/3 potting soil, and 1/3 coconut coir. If no coir, 1/2 compost, 1/2 potting soil, and a couple of hanfulls of vermiculite
Thank you. Now, if I could just get my lighting squared away…lol
Sweet!!!!!!!!
I’d like to thank the person behind the camera and whoever edits. Great work and so important.
Good point. You could always take the sucker indoors and put it under a grow light 😉
Good vid for you southern folk, however up here in Canada in zone 5 that sucker doesn’t have a hope of producing any ripe tomatoes.
Oh I’ve been trying that, but I just can’t get it to take roots… well you just showed me it can be done. Guess I’ll have to keep trying. I want more beefsteaks!!!!
Yeah, last week I got my fourth vine ripe tomato. In the next day or so I’ll have about five ready (Salsa video!!). I’m in zone 7b in North Western Arkansas. I planted this year around April 13th. 😉 Thanks Stymye.
Fantastic as always! You’ll be happy to know I was out today with my apple juice! haha!
You didn’t get any of that Texas hail did you? Man that was horrible. I was afraid we were gonna get some of that. Sheesh.
good video bro .. one comment tho….some people are just getting tomatoes out .. some are now harvesting tomatoes ..maybe state what zone are you in so people can somewhat determine from that, when to do this in their zone… I always put my zone info in my titles or info section… too many people ask where I am growing and what zone when I post these types of vids . and I agree it sure is helpful… for instance, suckers go out in mid july in my zone . .
great vids .. keep them coming !
Well you sure got that sucker!
i think artificial light should be okay for the time it is in the basement, but it would be even better if you put them outside in the summer. tomatos started inside are great and preatty easy to grow from seed. if you want them for the summer i would start them right now
The seeds will start fine in your basement with some artificial light. Keep them warm and moist not damp, for the best tasting tomatoes, let them get fully ripe before eating.
Most seeds don’t need light to germinate. Once sprouted, seedlings need light to photosynthesize. You can buy grow light bulbs specifically for growing plants.
Check your seed packets for temperature and make sure your basement is the minimum temperature for seeds to germinate. Seeds need moisture, heat and air to germinate.