There is no need to keep buying new tomato plants every year when you know how to overwinter your tomato plants. Over winter technique can be used to propagate the growth of tomatoes again and again during the spring season
Gardeners who have a greenhouse are very fortunate. As they can start to grow their tomato seeds very early in the spring season when the weather is warm enough.
If you want to keep your tomato plant alive the whole winter then you can grow it in a container that you can move indoors, for the first frost. It might or might not produce the fruit during the winter depending upon the temperature of your house and the amount of light the tomato plant received during the daytime.
Tomato usually thrive well and prefers daytime temperatures which are around 70 to 85° Fahrenheit.
Overwintering tomato cuttings
It is very much possible to grow a new tomato plant from the previous tomato cuttings without any major complications. You just need to take cuttings of the tomato plants and root them in water. Overwintering depends and responds differently on different varieties of tomatoes. Some varieties grow more easily and successfully than others.
The first step is to take off the cuttings before the first frost and root them in the water keeping them alive.
After the cutting develops its roots, you can plant the cutting into the soil. For some reason, the cutting will continue to grow in water but they get very leggy and sometimes outgrow the jar or the glass of the water in which they are kept.
Make sure that you don’t keep your cuttings into the water long before spring arrives.
Some varieties of tomato plants will develop roots in water in just about a week whereas others take a bit longer than usual.
Sometimes the cutting needs some supplementing like fertilizers as water doesn’t have enough nutrients like the soil.
Sometimes the cuttings grow really tall and may even bloom a flower instead of bearing fruit. Which results in wastage of energy of the plant.
Ways on how to pot your tomato cuttings-
You can cut the top of the original cuttings and then root them into a pot during the winter season like February.
You can set the cutting inside a cup and add potting soil around the stem and the roots. Try not to compact the roots too close to the stem.
When your container is full of soil then use your fingers to tamp the soil.
Remember to water the soil regularly since they have to adapt to their new environment. You can even also add these plantings into the garden after the danger of the frost has nicely passed and you are assured about the safety and growth.
Remember that tomatoes won’t really take off their growth until the weather warms up. For a few initial days try to be a little precocious. Also, remember that you provide enough water and sunlight to the cuttings of the tomato. In this way, they can grow into a new plant and grow some of the tastiest fruit for you.
Summary:
If you are a tomato lover, this way you can easily enjoy your tomatoes both in winter and summer.
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