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How A Pool Noodle Can Multiply Your Tomato Plants
By BROOKE YOUNGER
When your tomato plants develop sucker shoots, it’s essential to prune them. However, instead of discarding these suckers, you can use a pool noodle to grow new plants from them.
TikTok user @_thatgardenchick_ demonstrated how you can craft a hydroponic rooting station using slices of a pool noodle as mini floats to help tomato suckers sprout roots.
Begin by cutting the pool noodle into 1 to 2-inch thick cross-sections. Then, make two slits on opposite sides of each segment, ensuring you don’t cut through the center hole.
Slide one sucker into each of the slits until the stem pokes out from the bottom. You can also span a paper clip across the noodle’s center hole and float the plants through.
Place your tomato floats on water in a large container. Each tomato sucker will sprout roots in a few days to a week and can be transplanted when their roots are 1 inch long.
A potential concern with this method is whether pool noodles leach chemicals into the water; however, most gardeners agree that pool noodles are safe for short-term hydroponic use.