Can I propagate tomatoes for the fall garden from existing vines?
A. If necessary, use suckers or layering (cover with soil until roots appear) of existing vine. Do this several weeks before the determined recommended transplanting date for fall tomatoes, and use early tomato varieties. This is not a generally recommended practice. This practice does not work well with indeterminate varieties. Q. How do you tell when a green tomato harvested early to prevent freeze damage will ever turn red and ripen? A. This can simply be done with a sharp kitchen knife. Harvest a tomato typical of the majority of green tomatoes on your plants. Look at size but pay particular attention to fruit color. Slice through the center of the tomato. Closely examine the seed within the fruit. If the seeds are covered with a clear gell which cause them to move away from the knife, then that fruit will eventually turn red and ripen. If the seeds are cut by the knife then those fruit will never properly ripen. Compare the color and size of the tested fruit when harvesting tomato
