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RE: Don’t Be a Sucker, Make Tomato Plant Clones!
We have 2 tomato seasons here - spring and late summer. I think having these ready to go will be much easier and faster than starting seeds for round 2 after early blight takes out the first crop. Plus, the best performing plants can be selected and multiplied! Thanks for re-steeming ;-)
You're very welcome. You earned it. The season length would be my biggest concern for my region, where we sort of have 2 tomato seasons. It's more like one really long one. The summers can be droughty and very hot. Most tomatoes stop producing during this period. If you can keep them alive, then they start up again in the fall. It's a lot easier to do that with fully grown plants that have a robust root system already in place. These little babies would be just getting started right at the time when the topmost levels of soil carry the biggest risk of drying out. Having said that, some shade cloth and attention paid to watering the soil extremely regularly could do the trick. If the clones perform as well as their "mothers," then the payoff could be worth the extra labor (and any expense for water and shade cloth). I've got plenty of room (usually) in my garden, so I'm always excited to experiment!
I’m in Austin, so we deal with similar challenges in summer – very hot, intense direct sun and very dry. Shade cloth has been a lifesaver. It’s allowed for much less watering and less stress on the plants. I wasn’t sure if a 75% shade cloth would allow enough sun through, but everything in the garden (even the sun loving peppers, tomatoes and eggplant) are doing better than ever. July/August will be the real test!