How to Graft Vegetable Plants
Grafting vegetable plants has historically been done primarily by growers in Japan, but the practice is gaining in popularity in the U.S. Grafting is most often done to combine plants that are resistant to disease and wilting with plants that produce good and plentiful fruit. The process can be time consuming, but the results are usually worth it. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Choose two healthy plants with stems of a similar diameter for grafting. Stop watering them for 2 or 3 days and expose them to full sunlight during that time.
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2
Cut upward at about a 60-degree angle into the stem of the scion stem, using a very sharp, clean knife. This cut should be at a point on the stem just below the top 2 or 3 leaves and about two-thirds of the way through the scion stem.
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3
Make a downward cut in the rootstock at about a 60-degree angle so that the two stem surfaces will fit well together. This cut is also at a point on the stem just below the top 2 or 3 leaves, about two-thirds of the way through the stem.
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4
Take the stem of the rootstock and insert it into the stem of the scion. Clip these two stems together using a small grafting clip.
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5
Transplant the grafted vegetable plant (with both root balls) into a small pot with rich, damp soil. Water the plant immediately.
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6
Leave the roots of the scion intact for 4-5 days, and then cut away the scion roots gradually, a few at a time each day, until you have cut them all away.
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7
Keep the plant in an area with temperatures of about 80 to 85 degrees F, with a humidity level of at least 95 percent and close to full shade for at least seven days.
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Begin slowly exposing the plant to increasing amounts of light over the course of the next two weeks, and then transplant it with the graft line above the soil level.
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