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Updated 12 hours ago
Question: I keep seeing grafted vegetable seedlings being advertised in seed catalogs. What are they and should I be buying them? They're kind of expensive, so I'm not sure if they're worth it. I usually start all my tomatoes and peppers from seed so I can get a lot of plants for the cost of just a few packets of seeds.
Answer: Grafted vegetables started to appear on the market a few years ago, and more and more varieties are being offered every year. Grafted vegetable seedlings are created when the shoot system of one variety of a vegetable is attached to the root system of a separate variety. Using tomatoes as an example, a grafted plant is created when the shoot system of a tomato selected for its size and flavor is grafted onto the root system of a different tomato variety that was selected for its disease resistance and vigor.
Grafting is not a new technique; growers have been using it to create unique fruit trees, roses, and various edibles and ornamentals for centuries. Commercial growers have been planting grafted veggies for quite some time, especially in parts of Europe. It's only recently that these plants have become widely available to home gardeners.
Vegetable seedlings are typically grafted by hand when they're very young. The top of one seedling is severed from its root system and then physically attached to the root system of another seedling and held in place with a plastic grafting clip or grafting tape. The vascular systems of the two plants eventually join together and the two plants grow as one. The positive attributes of each of the separate varieties are displayed in the resulting plant.
The expensive cost of grafted vegetable seedlings is due to several factors. First, because the process is completed by hand, it's time consuming. Secondly, it requires some specialized equipment and growing conditions. But, for some growers and gardeners, the added expense is worth it.
Because the root system of grafted vegetables is typically selected for its vigor and heartiness, it increases the overall health and disease-resistance of the plant. Many growers note that grafted plants are generally more tolerant of drought, pests, and diseases than their un-grafted counterparts. Some also find that grafted varieties result in stronger plants and higher yields.
All that being said, if you typically have no trouble growing a hearty crop of tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables, it may not be worth the extra expense to purchase grafted plants instead of starting your own seeds. But, if disease and other stressful conditions often lead your plants to be less productive than you'd hoped, investing in a few grafted plants can help you hedge your bets.
I've grown grafted eggplants, tomatoes and even a grafted “Sugar Baby” watermelon in my garden over the last three years. I was expecting to see a huge difference between the grafted plants and the un-grafted plants of the same variety, but truth be told, there wasn't that much of a difference for me. But, I tend to coddle my plants. I try my best to provide them with everything they need and limit stressful conditions. Because of this, I urge you to test grafted vegetables out for yourself as you may see different results. Perhaps run your own side-by-side experiment where you grow a grafted and an un-grafted plant of the same variety, provide them both with the exact same growing conditions, and see which one gives a better yield.
You can purchase grafted seedlings of certain varieties of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, melons and cucumbers from some local nurseries as well as from online sources such as Territorial Seeds (territorialseed.com), Burpee (burpee.com), and Johnny's Selected Seeds (johnnyseeds.com).
Horticulturist Jessica Walliser co-hosts “The Organic Gardeners” at 7 a.m. Sundays on KDKA Radio with Doug Oster. She is the author of several gardening books, including “Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control” and “Good Bug, Bad Bug.” Her website is jessicawalliser.com.
Send your gardening or landscaping questions to tribliving@tribweb.com or The Good Earth, 622 Cabin Hill Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601.
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