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Grafted vegetables (grown on special rootstock) have long been popular in Asia and Europe among commercial
produce growers who face limited land area or depleted soils. This year we introduced our new line of handgrafted
tomatoes to the American home gardener, under the full name SuperNaturals Mighty Mato. Were beginning to
make more types of grafted vegetables (peppers, eggplants) available under the name SuperNaturals Grafted
Vegetables. We chose the names SuperNaturals and Mighty Mato because they emphasize the superhero qualities
of grafted veggies, as well as the natural process used to produce them.

MORE ABOUT SUPERNATURALS GRAFTED VEGETABLES

Grafted veggies are created when the top part of one plant (the scion) is attached to the root system of a separate
plant (the rootstock). When their tissues heal, they fuse into one Super plant with the best qualities of each; the
rootstock contributes vigor and disease resistance while the scion is chosen for exceptional fruit flavor or quality.
The resulting plant is more vigorous and productive than the variety would be without the special rootstock. But
grafting strengthens the variety in a way that is still Natural, taking advantage of the plants own ability/desire to
heal itself, unlike more unsettling means of improving plants through genetic engineering (GMOs, Frankenfoods,
etc.). Taken as a whole, SuperNatural lets gardeners know these veggies have qualities that go beyond the
ordinary.

Like superheroes, SuperNatural Grafted Vegetables are stronger, faster, more able to fend off foes than regular
vegetable plants and their harvests are bigger! With that in mind, the first type of grafted vegetable we
introduced this year is the Mighty Mato. By grafting favorite heirloom and conventional tomato varieties like
Brandywine or Big Beef onto special solanum rootstock, good varieties become super varieties. Mighty Mato has
an extraordinary ability to defend against pests, diseases, temperature extremes, and poor soils, while producing
early, long, and abundant harvests of big beautiful fruit. Soon, Mighty Mato will be joined by grafted Peppers,
Eggplant, Squash, Cucumbers, and Melons, all going above and beyond the call of duty to bring big, wholesome
harvests to gardeners everywhere.

CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR MIGHTY MATO GRAFTED TOMATO

Transplanting
Handle carefully when planting to avoid bending or putting pressure on the graft. If your plant comes with a
grafting clip, you can either remove it carefully or leave it on and it will slip off as the plant grows. Mighty Mato
should be planted at the same level as in its original container so that the graft remains above the soil. If planted
too deeply, Mighty Matos adventitious roots will develop from the scion, negating the disease and
nematode resistance of the rootstock.

Fertilizing
Avoid over-fertilizing your Mighty Mato because this will promote extra foliar development and delay fruit
production (just feed it as you would a regular tomato). With its large and vigorous root structure, Mighty 'Mato is
happiest planted in the ground, but if you decide to grow it in a container, use at least a 15-gallon size or a half
wine barrel.

Pruning and Support

Pruning is crucial to contain and direct the plants energy to fruit production. For all grafted tomatoes, remove any
suckers (side shoots) that form below the graft. After that, how much you prune will depend on whether your
grafted tomato is a determinate or indeterminate variety.

Pruning and staking determinate tomatoes - Its generally agreed that these tomatoes should be pruned very slightly
if at all. Because they are programmed to produce a certain amount of fruit and then stop, pruning them isnt
necessary to encourage further growth or additional fruit set. In fact, removing blossoms or suckers always reduces
the overall number of tomatoes. However, to improve air circulation and keep the foliage away from soil-borne
diseases, you may want to remove all of the bottom branches and foliage, 10 or 12 inches up the main stem. This is
especially important in wetter or cooler climates. Some gardeners also recommend pinching off the first few sets of
blossoms, until plants are well-established in the garden; and some suggest removing about half the total blossoms,
believing that the fruits left to ripen will be larger and more intensely flavored.

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www.loghouseplants.com 78185 Rat Creek Rd, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 alice@loghouseplants.com
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Determinate varieties usually grow only 3 or 4 feet tall, and many sources say supports arent necessary for these
bushier, sturdier plants. However, a short stake or cage will prop up the branches as they start to sag under the
load of ripening fruit, holding them up off the ground and away from slugs and moisture that can cause rotting or
spread disease.
Pruning and trellising indeterminate tomatoes - Opinions vary widely on
how to prune indeterminate tomatoes. But without pruning, a
supervigorous grafted tomato will just keep growing, producing a riot of
foliage; by strategically removing some of this excess, you will allow plants
to ripen larger, tastier, earlier tomatoes and keep foliage up off the ground,
reducing losses to pests and disease. As with determinate tomatoes, you
can improve air circulation by removing all branches and suckers (the
little shoots that emerge where each branch meets the main stem) from
the bottom 10 or 12 inches of the stem.
Our favorite way to grow a grafted tomato is to prune it to two laterals
(the main stem plus the side shoot or sucker just below the first fruit cluster) which are then trained up a trellis into
a V shape.
We make our trellis from two eight-
foot-tall poles, placed at either end of
a garden row, joined at their tops by a
crosspiece of wood (or a taut piece of
string or wire) that parallels the
ground. We anchor a wooden stake in
the ground next to each tomato plant.
Then, starting at one of the end poles,
we run a string from the top of the
trellis down at an angle to the first
stake, then back up at an angle to the
top of the trellis, repeating the process
(and connecting the string to each
stake) until we reach the top of the
pole at the other end. This creates a
repeating V-shape in the trellis, giving
each plants two vines its own rope to
climb.
Grafted Cupid Tomato vs. Non-grafted Cupid Tomato (pictured)

Throughout the summer, continue to pinch off all the suckers that appear on both leaders. If plants seem to be
getting too dense and bushy, you can remove a branch of foliage here and there to encourage air circulation. But
dont get carried away and prune too much plants need leaves to manufacture the energy that creates sugar in the
fruits; and tomatoes can be subject to sunscald if too much of the plants leafy canopy is removed. Depending on
your soil and climate, you may need to prune more or less we look forward to hearing about regional differences
in growing Mighty Mato!
For more detailed pruning and staking instructions, see:

http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx
and http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/TomPrune.pdf

____________________________________________________________________________________________
www.loghouseplants.com 78185 Rat Creek Rd, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 alice@loghouseplants.com