Humsa I'm in the SF bay area and we get frost and freezes in the winter, that's why I brought the plant in. Hope your tomatoes survive. Some of my experienced tomato growing friends have told me they have picked tomatoes at Christmas time.

Don't see any reason why cuttings wouldn't produce fruit. It's a common method of growing for some people. Nor why taking sequential cutting would affect fruit production - it's basically the same plant as if it were allowed an unnaturally long growing season. As long as you can keep the plant healthy and happy, which could be a bit of work in the short short days of winter and in a climate that would allow any pests or diseases to build-up.

On the other hand, as you stated it's a volunteer plant to start with, so there's a decent chance that it won't produce fruit that looks or tastes as good as what its parents did. No way to know what kind of cross it is. So you may not want to spend a lot of time and effort on it for less than certain results.

In principle you can overwinter tomatoes. They are formally perennials (as are peppers and eggplant). The "tomato tree" at Disney Epcot Center is several decades old, and produces thousands of tomatoes every year. They did one in Beiging also, but it died a few years ago because it got overheated. But it's not easy. I believe that in order to maintain production, winter temps can't go below 60F. Colder temperatures than that basically shut off fruiting. So it's not just about avoiding frosts. It's a LOT harder than that. If the temps go below that, and it doesn't freeze, you'll have mostly pretty foliage.

If you can handle it , provide enough light, sure you can over winter it. Rooting cuttings is another way . When it gets out of control in size, just make another cutting and root it until it can be planted outside.

Eh, don't know about 60 being the min temp cutoff. I'd put it more around 50 f and they wake back up after 2 or so days above 50f lows. You can absolutely keep a tomato going year around as long as it doesn't freeze or over heat. I've done it. It won't set more fruit when it is below 50f but it certainly isn't dead or doomed to never produce when it warms up.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm going to continue with this experiment. I knew I wouldn't get fruit over winter, but I do want a plant to put in the ground in late spring which will hopefully, produce tomatoes. I'm calculating that I may have to do 6 to 8 generations of clones to get to May 1 which is the earliest we plant here...

I wish I could find the source for that >60F specification to maintain productivity. Many people talk about it. Certainly the soil temp has to be at least that high. Also certainly the temps can't be low if you want it to actually be producing. It is said that once plant growth and fruiting stop, the plant is done. A week of temps below 50F actually stunt the plant as a whole. But I know that at least for high temperatures, in midsummer, when fruiting stops, fruiting will return in the fall when it cools off. So it isn't that simple.

We can get down into the 40's occasionally here. Rarely a light frost. 50's isn't unusual for a few days at a time. I've had some luck overwintering tomatoes outdoors and getting fruit - granted, not a lot, but I've picked tomatoes here and there in Jan/Feb, so I also doubt the 60 degree cutoff. I do try to grow them up against a sheltering white stucco wall, I'm sure the reflected light, heat and protection from wind doesn't hurt. One of my neighbors usually keeps a cherry tomato or two going throughout the winter, and several local-ish gardeners I follow are winter tomato growers.

I don't have terribly high hopes for mine this year, with the predicted much colder than normal temps. But, I figured I'd be mad at myself if I didn't plant them and the predictions were wrong, as they are so many times here ;)

rhoder, you'll have to come back and report how your experiment goes, good luck!

I don't have much experience, but I did it once, and carefully pulled two potted plants indoors when the temps went into the 30s. Got lots of foliage the next season, but rather few tomatoes or even flowers. Wasn't worth keeping the plants.

Humsai I will report back. I do love experimenting with plants but there is always the potential for disappointment. I just had all my rose cuttings bite the dust, one at a time, slowly... agony.

It may be a little stunted compared to your spring tomato plants but it will grow and fruit. I tried it by cutting back a few plants when it started raining(I should have protected them from rain but I didn't--maybe the results would be different). I got a few winter tomatoes out of it but they were not good. Cherry tomatoes work much better. For me, it just wasn't worth it when spring tomato seedlings grow so easily. But, maybe if I went to the effort of protecting them as you are doing, I would have had better success.

I had a tomato (better boy) live for 6 years in a greenhouse. I kept it hot and humid over the winter months. It probably lived longer, but I had to leave it when I moved. It was still producing very well and had a good taste.

Interesting , wertach.

How did you do it ?: Did you cut it down to the ground every year ? Or grew it like a big tree ? or like a grape vine ?

Sey

I would cut it back in the fall to about 3' high and put the glass back in the frame over it. In the spring after it got to growing and when the outside temps got high enough, I would pull the glass off and let it grow up thru the greenhouse frame.

It got a lot bigger than a normal Better boy over the years. I guess the extra care it got? Or maybe I got my seeds mixed up and it was an indeterminate? Very possible because I'm bad about doing that! I got Red Robins mixed up last year....... I had 5' tall plants, not Red Robin!

I built the greenhouse from plans I drew up by reading a lot of books, before the internet became what it is now. I built it in 1989.

I think the greenhouse was the key for it to live so long. I faced it directly south as the sun goes, not magnetic south. The back wall and partial sides were made of heavily insulated steel roofing. 1/2 of the greenhouse, back side, was filled with water barrels to hold heat. And it was sealed tight.

I got some triple pane glass from an old business that was being torn down, then built the frame to match the glass. I could heat it in cloudy, 20 degree weather with a small heater or a Coleman lantern!

I had some mirror like reflectors on the back side to help with the light.

It was my haven in winter! Even though my tomatoes weren't really producing during the winter, I could sit in there and smell spring! LOL

I also grew lettuce and other stuff in there.

Sorry, I'm starting to ramble!

wertach your greenhouse sound incredible! For a long time I've had fantasy's of living in a greenhouse... So, I'm thinking there is hope for my tomato experiment although, I'm rooting cuttings from each generation not overwintering one plant. It looks like my recent cutting, about 6 weeks old now, needs to be pruned and made into another cutting...

I don't know how yours will turn out since it is a different variety, but I grow Red Robins over the winter next to a sunny window. I use extra lights because the sun isn't enough. I have several growing now. I started them from seeds about a month ago. I take cuttings from them and start new plants every year and they do very well. They set fruit but take a long time to ripen.

In the spring I plant them in my garden. The fruit get ripe quickly and I have extra early tomatoes.

I don't know either and it might be a complete bust, but I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I have to have at least one garden experiment going or I get bored. If I was braver, in April I would pot several cutting to be planted in my garden in May but I have a smallish garden and can't afford too much space for experimental plants that might produce very little. Thank you for your input, gets me thinking about another experiment.

This experiment turned out to be a minor failure. The clone that survived the winter grew beautifully but the fruit was a disappointment.... What I thought would be Ananas Noir, a beautiful bi-color with delicious taste, turned out to be a mediocre large red cherry. So either the cloning changed the genetics or the volunteer I cloned was a cherry. Weird since I never grow cherry tomatoes, but, I am in a community garden and the seed could have gotten into my garden from another garden where cherries are grown. I'm going to do the same experiment this winter but will use a definite variety of tomato, one that is already growing in my garden so I know for sure what it is.

Interesting! So glad you updated what happened. Thank you!