Did anyone see this? Sounds very interesting. There is a short video on burpeehomegardens web site

http://www.businesswire.com/ne...
http://www.burpee.com/grafted-...

I didn't watch the video after seeing the price, but this seems to be the latest rage. At least for those who want to try anything new, and have money to burn. I did buy Tomato seed, and a couple of others from them. If I had waited a couple of weeks, I could have purchased those same seeds at a local garden center and saved myself a LOT of postage. I have sent live orchid plants and cuttings to the East coast for what they charged to send 5 packets of seeds!

I have seen the grafted plants advertised but I am not sure I believe the claims. I will just stick with regular tomato plants which I plant deeply so as they get a very good root system.

I guess it would be a good idea to keep in the back of your mind in case one broke off?
I'll do mine from seeds.

What worries me is some of the root stocks are controlled by companies who are known for their GMOs.
I would want to ask about the root stock, but at the high prices, I am not likely to buy one.
I might like to try something similar with my petunias.
I have some very vigorous plants, and some seem to be poking along so slowly.
Maybe I could graft the slow ones onto the vigorous roots.

The project that I'm involved with is NOT anything to do with genetically modified tomatoes. Grafting for many different plants has been done for years with great success. ie Apple Trees. The root stock is not a GMO product. I'm really excited about this. The vigorous root system will help the uptake with nutrients.

The grafting part, I understand,but at least one of the root stock seed supply is controlled by a company which
is active in GMOs for profit. I would not put it past them to use GMO techniques to make root stocks.

This would be a fun thing to try with my own tomato plants, but I would choose my own vigorous root stock.
Some have suggested that an F1 hybrid of Celebrity would be suitable for home gardeners.

I did see a selection of grafted tomato plants (Burpee labels) at the big nursery I shop at when I bought my tomato seedlings this spring. I didn't buy any.

I am doing a "Grafted Tomato Challenge" Here's my results mid-season
Variety: Red Brandywine
I started plant No 1 started from seed (own root) and bought plant No 2 (grafted).
Planting location: side-by-side in a self watering system inside a hobby greenhouse
Started with (transplanted) the same size plants

Results: The Grafted No 2 has a slightly larger main stock, but the main stocks are very close in size.
The Grafted No 2 is at least 3 times the overall plant size with much larger side branching
Grafted No 2 has over 30 tomatoes on it and was the first to form tomatoes
Own-Root No 1 has finally formed 2 tomatoes, several weeks after Grafted No 2 had started. No 1 plant will not have vine ripened tomatoes for at least 4 weeks. No 2 Grafted should have vine ripened tomatoes starting next week
Although both plants have an abundant amount of flowers, the Own-Root No 1 is slow to form fruit and lots of blossom drop
Nearly all the flowers are forming fruit on the Grafted No 2 plant.

The Winner is : Grafted Red Brandywine

For the extra price of the grafted vs own-root , I vote Grafted is totally worth it. I'm not saying all the tomatoes should be grafted, but it is nice to have that option for some special varieties

Here's a couple of photos. No1 Own-Root on the left and Grafted No 2 on the right. All the tomatoes you see are from No 2

Interesting to read about your results!

Did the purchased rootstock have a name? What was your home started one? Was the top of each Red Brandywine? When did you start your plant? Could the age of the purchased one give it the head start rather than the rootstock? Great that you will be eating ripe tomatoes very soon!

That is great Joanne!
How deep did you plant the NOT grafted one?

There needs to be many such trials by many people to really prove that grafted is better.
Will you do a taste test of the two too?

I don't know the name of the root stock that Burpee uses for their grafted tomatoes, but I'm sure they have that info available if you google it. The plants were about the same size. I bought the Burpee grafted tomato from a garden centre/grower and know that they received the little grafted plants in a 50 cell tray. They were very small plants. I do know this, the root stock and top of graft varieties need to be the same size main stem to graft them together. The own root ones that I had started were from a seed supplier that I mail order seeds for many years. The germination was excellent and the seedlings were very healthy.

I do have an oscillating fan in the gh and it may have affected the pollination of the own root. I have adjusted the fan to see if it will make a difference in the own root plant for setting fruit. But as far as actual plant size, the grafted on is several times large, (not in height, but in more vigorous and bigger side branching). The plants were planted the same depth since there is limited space in the self watering set-up. Graft is about 1-1/2 inches above soil surface
This is a photo from June 24

This will be an ongoing research for tomatoe growers.
I know commercial tomatoe growers, down south, grow grafted ones.

I usually "sink" tomatoe plants in order to get a good tap root on them.
I take the bottom leaves off, and sink the plant so it roots all along the stem.

One year, I will try a grafted, and a Not grafted of the same kind, but grow them so the Not grafted one is "sunk".
I think the price has to come down before they become popular.
However, now end of season, there are lots being dumped at lower prices.

Burpee apparently isn't telling us what root stock they used. Other companies also are doing grafting, but I haven't gone to their sites to see if rootstock varieties are listed. Territorial Seed is one, Johnny's Selected Seeds is another. I found quite a bit of interesting information about grafting tomatoes for those who would like to try growing and grafting your own. The following link will give you access to many pages of how-to information.

http://www.ask.com/web?am=broa...

Caroline, I always plant tomatoes horizontally, in a little trench with a slight incline so that the root end is about 3 inches under what will be the soil level after it's covered with soil, and the top gradually comes out the shallow end. I place them so that about 1/3 of the top of the plant is all that is visible. In a couple of days that top will turn itself upright, and all that buried stem will sprout roots. A deeper hole for planting upright would put the roots down into cooler soil where they would not be as happy. I stick the pot label near the root ball and have them all going the same way in the row. If staking or caging them, then I know where it is safe to put a stick in the ground as long as I do it within about a week, before that root ball gets much larger. I'll have to search out my picture of one of the plants when I pulled it out in the fall.

I am growing in containers now so all soil will be same temperature.
Yes, when in ground , a trench works to increase roots.

I was just wondering: whether a comparison of grafted to a Non grafted
is valid, when the Non grafted has not been encouraged to form a good root system.

I really don't know.

It's not a new concept. Apple trees and roses have been grafted for decades. The reason is the more vigorous root system helps the variety uptake nutrients better and is more vigorous.

There is an excellent How-To article in Garden Gate magazine, page 24, April 2014 issue 116. I have a horti friend that is grafting a bunch of different varieties. I would consider the Brandywine grafted again

I am glad somone is doing some research on these.
Last year, these were on sale at the end of season as they did not sell.
Many of us question the sources of the root stock still.

I try for a good tap root on the tomato plants much as has been described by MaryE above.
I grow mostly in containers.

I think I might try grafting myself sometime, but I will NOT be buying the expensive root stock.
The root stock is a product of the same company which has bullied some Saskatchewan farmers.

If I were to buy one of these,-- it would need to have both the root stock and the scion clearly labelled.

Grafting tomatoes! What will they think of next?