If the plants you have were originally from the same seed, then the results should be the same, taste-wise, unless you're not sure about your seed. But rooting suckers is much, much faster than growing from seed. And also you know exactly what you are going to get.

Carla in Sac

I agree with sautesmom. There's no comparison between the success of and time it takes for rooting tomato plants from suckers/lateral branches and starting the seeds, unless you want a lot of time before the seeded ones can be set out. If you want new plants for later, you can actually do either one. The seeds will take longer to reach planting size, 6-8 weeks after germination, while the rooted suckers can be planted in a week or two.

If you decide to go the rooting route, it's probably too early to do it for a fall crop of tomatoes right now. I'd break off a small sucker in late July, remove any blossoms, and root it in the shade for a couple of weeks. Then gradually expose it to the sunlight and plant out in mid- to late-August.

I am from same area (Charleston). I have 6 very healthy looking plants with several tomatoes on them now. I have 3 Better Boys (3' tall and wide) and 3 Brandywines (5' tall).. What's the advantage of starting over for a fall crop? Will the plants take a horrible beating during the upcoming heat and not produce as well in the fall?

larenatc- I'm growing in containers and have had a tough time nursing my plants through the upcoming heat and humidity. I always lose a good number to disease, and whatever ones remain usually produce poorly or not at all. I'll pull the worst looking/least producing and replace, and try to keep the others going as best as I can. I've had only quite limited success in the past, because the heat and humidity of the summer usually does quite a bit of damage on the newer plants also. Wish I could be more encouraging....I keep trying to work on better timing and care, but have not had much luck.

chalstonsc & laurenate

Tomatoes just don't set fruit in really hot weather, and that's also when a lot of funguses blanket the plants if you haven't been able to avoid them. What I've done in the past is uproot and discard the spring plants that are about to expire anyway and just keep the rest watered. When fall temps set in, they'll usually start production again, but the trick is to keep them healthy through the heat.

A lot of people in hotter regions just plan on setting out tomato plants twice, spring and late summer. I'm going to do that this year myself, not intentionally in the beginning, but due to finding six volunteer Rutgers (such a good tomato!) in my windowbox. I'll let them continue to grow in their 20-oz cups until mid- or late-July. That's a bit early here to set out a fall crop, but I don't think the plants will do well in those small containers if I wait much longer. It depends on their size and health. I'll plant them in the garden though, not in containers. I've also decided to put them in a spot that gets dappled afternoon shade in hopes of keeping them cooler.

chalstonsc, if your containers are at all portable, you might see how your tomatoes would do if you moved them to partial shade. Or even rigged some kind of sunscreen that would shade them part of the day. It might not do much to avoid fungus and disease, but at least they wouldn't require as much water-attention from leaf-transpiration and might survive the heat better.

Anney- I've planned to try what you suggest re: shade, but I don't think that will solve my problems...in the past, fungus and disease have done them in, and like you, I suspect less direct sun will be a solution. Thanks for the suggestion.

chal- When do your plants usually begin their demise and when do you transplant your new plants? I never thought of the plants getting beat up so badly by the heat, but it makes sense.

lare-
My plants begin to decline in June, when depending on the weather. By mid-late July, they're VERY beat up and rarely setting fruit due to the heat and humidity. I've transplanted new plants anywhere from late June until mid August, usually with poor success. The earlier transplants have gotten beaten up by the heat and humidity, and the later plants, in my yard getting less than a full day's sun, have a hard time producing much before it gets too cold. This year I'm experimenting with providing shade and trying some early season types. Good luck...if you find some answers, please let me know!

I would be interested to see how it works out for you. Going to start a couple Super Sioux plants(heard the handle heat somewhat) for fall crop and see what happens to my current ones. My first year of trying so it should be interesting.
Good luck to you.