We all love growing tomatoes at home though pinching off those pesky side shoots can be hard work. It seems like such a shame to throw them away and waste all the effort the plant has put in to it.

However, there is something really neat you can do with these side shoots that will give you free tomato plants!

When you pinch the side shoots off, pinch off the bottom few leaves and then put the stalk in water. Keep the water topped up over the next few days and you will start to see roots growing from the bottom of the stalk.

It will get a healthy root system with white roots on and once these have developed then you can take them out and plant them in soil and they will grow like normal tomato plants!

This is a great way to get free tomato plants and to make use of the side shoots which we all usually compost. It is particularly good when you find large side shoots you missed or if you have an unusual variety you want more of.

I’ve done it this year and almost doubled my tomato plants from this method and the plants are perfectly healthy and producing fruit! Try it and see how good it is.