Grow your own tomatoes from tomato slices

Mushy tomatoes belong in the trash? Not correct. We show you how you can easily grow new plants from the slices of an old tomato.

On average, we Germans eat around 26 kg of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) per year. This puts tomatoes right at the top of the most popular vegetables. But not every tomato finds its way from the supermarket to our stomachs. They fell down, got muddy or simply bought too much again - the tomatoes quickly end up in the trash can rather than in the saucepan. But instead of throwing away the vegetables, you can grow your own tomato plant from them. We will show you how you can quickly, easily and easily grow new plants from tomato slices.

Planting Tomato Slices in Soil: Materials

Growing a new plant from tomato slices is very easy and can be done without much effort. So you only need the following materials:

1. One tomato
2. A knife
3. A flowerpot
4. High-quality potting soil like our Plantura organic herb and seed soil
5. A pricking stick, alternatively cutlery
6. A tomato fertilizer - for example the Plantura organic tomato fertilizer

Tomato slices for your own plant: instructions

Growing a new tomato plant from an old tomato is anything but difficult and quick.

Step 1: Choice, Location and Claims

First choose a suitable tomato from which you want to grow your new tomato plant. The tomato can be a bit older or overripe, but it should not be moldy, as this can limit the ability of the seeds to germinate. Now carefully slice the tomato. Fill a flower pot three-quarters full with soil and place the slices in it. A special potting soil is ideal, because this promotes the root growth of the young plants particularly well and thus ensures he althy and robust seedlings. If the slices are in the flower pot, they are covered with a layer of potting soil about 1 to 2 cm deep. Now we just have to wait and see.

In the next few weeksthe seeds in the tomato slices begin to sprout. It is important that the soil always remains moist, but not too wet - the sensitive seeds do not tolerate drought, but they do not do well even in very wet conditions. A sure instinct is required when watering the tomatoes. But the location for germination also needs to be carefully considered: the tomato likes it bright and warm best, so a bright window sill is perfect for it.

Step 2: Pick tomatoes

After about three weeks, the first small seedlings can be seen. However, as many of the small tomato plants have to develop under optimal conditions, it is time to thin out the stock a bit. This is the only way for all plants to get enough nutrients and space to develop optimally. The right time to prick out the tomatoes is when most of the seedlings have developed the first or second true pair of leaves. The small plants are carefully lifted out of the ground with a pricking stick and placed in their new pot. Be careful not to damage leaves or roots. If you don't have a pricking stick, you can also use a spoon or fork: the seedlings can also be easily removed from the ground with the shaft of the cutlery. In the new pot, the tomatoes should be in the ground up to the base of the cotyledons. It is also advisable to plant only one seedling per pot - this guarantees that each seedling has enough space to develop into a strong tomato plant. If you only want to grow one or two tomato plants, you should pick the strongest seedlings when pricking out, as they are also more likely to grow into robust plants.

Step 3: Regular care of the tomato plant

From now on the plant grows almost by itself. Unfortunately, only almost, because regular watering is still mandatory so that the plant grows and thrives. The plant should also be given some fertilizer about four weeks after pricking out. A special tomato fertilizer such as the Plantura organic tomato fertilizer is particularly suitable for this, because it has a balanced nutrient ratio that guarantees the plant is optimally supplied. Other fertilizers often contain too much nitrogen for tomatoes - as a result, the plants develop countless leaves, but the growth of their fruits unfortunately falls short. From now on, however, the plant will become regularcared for, she will soon be carrying delicious tomatoes to thank you for her second life.

Planting tomato slices in soil - Summary:

1. Slice tomato
2. Fill the flower pot with potting soil
3. Place the tomato slices in the pot and cover with 1 - 2 cm of soil
4. Water regularly
5. Prick out the tomatoes after three weeks and place them individually in flower pots
6. After another four weeks add fertilizer - such as the Plantura organic tomato fertilizer
7. Maintenance regularly
8. Enjoy delicious tomatoes

You can also grow new plants from leftovers with other types of vegetables. You can find out how this works in our article on reusing leftover vegetables.

Many thanks to Cuxin for the support!