I see from your post that you state "brown sticks in the dirt"
as a result from trying to grow cuttings..
Have you tried taking the cuttings and place them in a small container (like a 20oz cup) filled with potting mix not potting soil..and keep them sheltered from the sun (gradually) until they take root?
If not try that..

Best of luck and happy gardening.

I place the cutting in a glass of water in the shade for 5 or 6 days(Usually new root are starting to show) then into a cup of moist potting soil until it appears to be putting on new growth.Then it goes into the garden.
Seems to work every time I have tried it this way. More experienced people may give you better methods but this works for me.
CDGTXS

Thanks for responses!
atascosa_tx- Actually, yes, I tried a couple, but I think my problem was that I put it in the sun too soon (about a week after). I don't know how to tell when the roots have developed because it's under the soil- recently, I tried growing a cutting in the soil, kept it in the shade; it seemed fine for the first 2 weeks inside, then I put it in the sun and it was wilting but still alive. It seemed to finally be dying off, so I pulled it out of the pot only to find that it had never developed roots whatsoever. What did I do wrong here?

Putting cuttings in a glass of water- I've tried that once as well, but one of the cuttings apparently had a spider egg-sac on it; it hatched and the tiny spiders made their webs all over the place. That was a horrifying experience, but I'll try again I suppose.

Are there any ways to make the plants take root faster, or ensure that they take root?

Hmm..they survived in the shade but in the sun it goes kapuut.
What I have done was add a diluted mixture of phosphorus to stimulate root growth..you may try that..

pommy

cdgtxs's method is probably the surest way to get a sucker to grow, and there are some things you need to pay attention to.

First, the size of the sucker should be no more than 12-18" long. It'll root in a tall container of water in the shade, just make sure you replace the water every 2-3 days to keep it fresh. Then after it has developed 1" or longer roots, put it into a container with a fine soil mix. The roots must adjust to a new environment and be able to take up nutrients, and new growth is the best evidence that this has occurred.

Last but not least. HARDEN off your new plant exactly as you would a plant you'd started from seed. Move it into the sun only gradually, starting with maybe 2-3 hours of early morning or late afternoon sun and gradually extending the time by a couple of hours each day until they're able to tolerate a full day of sunlight. Keep it watered -- small containers dry out quickly in full sunlight.

Think of it as a child who must be gradually exposed to sunshine to develop a tan before being outside all day.

Then plant it in your garden late one afternoon and water well then, too. I'd remove all the leaves except for the ones on the top and bury the plant up to those top leaves. It'll develop even more roots along the stem. If you plant at dusk, the plant will have several hours to adjust to its new environment, and it should be fine.

I'm going to have to get another plant this same way from the one Neves Azorean Red seed that germinated (out of five seeds that someone sent me), since I want to grow two of them and have plenty of viable seeds for next year. You're lucky that you can always grow from cuttings!

anney- thanks so much, that was really helpful.
:) I just started come cuttings, more than one, so I'll have a back up if my plans go awry.
I'm putting 3 in water and 3 in the soil mix directly. I'll see which grows better from that.
It's good to live in Hawaii :)

pommy

Since you're here, one more thing in case it wasn't clear. Make sure you use a sucker that grows at the axil or crotch of the stem and a branch, not a branch. Just snap it off right there in the axil. I don't think a branch will grow a plant, but a sucker will -- suckers form secondary main stems on tomato plants and aren't actually needed by the plant. I don't usually remove them except for the ones that grow near the bottom of the plant.

Don't mean to be overexplanatory if you already know this though. Just thought I'd mention it. If your plant is still growing, you must have PLENTY of suckers!

I have actually started them right in the soil, but you absolutely HAVE to do two things:
(1) Keep it WET for at least a week, and then moist until it's actively growing; and keep it SHADED until it is actively growing. What works best for me to shade the plant is a bench or a garden chair, something like that, placed so it's always shading the sprout, and the benefit is that it's open enough that you can see if it's wet/growing.
Oh, make that three things: make sure you have at least a few inches into soil (stripped of leaves) but only three leaves above ground. It's almost certain to wilt-don't let that bother you, if you keep it wet. It should perk up again within a couple of days.
OR version two, put it into a styrofoam cup right after you break it off and strip the bottom leaves leaving three leaf sets at the top, fill with dirt to almost the top, and then fill with water. Don't poke holes in the bottom for a week, then poke a hole, put it in a saucer, and keep moist until growing. Again, plant after it starts growing, keep moist and shaded for several days. This method never fails for me.

Carla in Sac

Another trick is to trim all leafs on the sucker in half with scissors. This way you only have 1/2 the transpiration when they go in the sun. You must keep the absorption rate of moisture through the stem greater than the transpiration rate through the leafs. Trimming the leafs in half increases the survival rate.

I'll second much thats been said. I can't say its the right way but I tend to have tolerable survival rates considering I'm not a commercial grower and there are lots of opportunities to take new cuttings.

Smaller is better, 6-8", is what I usually use. Bottom half to 2/3s stripped of foliage stuck in a pot thats kept very wet but no standing surface water after the first day and in a mainly shady spot. It'll need looking after every day or so for a while and you might want to give it some support if its windy but you'll see what it needs as to water. If its very wet and they're still droopy, let it dry out a tad. If that doesn't work they probably won't make it. You'll usually know within a few days if its gonna take. Sometime they don't wilt at all. Give it some time to establish decent roots before planting in the ground.

I've done branches as well as suckers and I'd guess at least a 50% survival rate. Probably more.

If a cutting was especially important, I might screen the potting soil first and or I might use rooting hormone but there are usually plenty from the time you prune the lower branches on planting day, or suckering or training throughout the season. I've never rooted in just water. I figured those little hairs would be pretty fragile and would be better growing into soil. Apparently not.

They're weeds, play with it, have fun!

'I don't know how to tell when the roots have developed'

It's simple...just pull on the cutting. If it comes up easily,
no roots. If it don't...roots!

Thanks to everyone who posted, I'm going to try this out.
I've been using suckers, but I was wondering if it absolutely HAD to be a sucker that you try to grow? if you tried to grow part of a branch, for example, would it work or just die?

the best advice was first given by "cdgtxs". Tomato cuttings are best grown in a glass of water until a nice root developes. It does not have to be in a dark place. I grow the roots in my kitchen window sill and they stay green and healthy. After a nice root system developes. Transplant into a soil, or better yet, Mel' Mix.