Taking and Growing Cuttings

How We Take, Plant, and Grow Cuttings (The HOE Gardens Method)

Let’s get this out of the way first:

This is not the only way to take cuttings, plant cuttings, or care for cuttings. There are many successful methods out there.
This is how we do it, and what we recommend because it consistently works extremely well for us.

Could you do it differently and still succeed? Absolutely.
Will I argue that our way is the right way? Also yes. (At least in this garden, in this climate, with these plants, on this soil, under this level of coffee consumption.)

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First: A Quick Reality Check on Cuttings

Cuttings are not “plant and forget” material. They are basically plant teenagers: fast-growing, a little needy, and very responsive to how you treat them early on.

If you start them right, you’ll get strong plants and excellent tuber production.
If you wing it, you’ll learn some lessons you didn’t ask for.

So let’s do it the easy way.

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Taking Your Own Cuttings

Taking your own cuttings is one of the best ways to learn your plants and multiply your stock without spending a fortune.

When to Take Cuttings

Take cuttings when the plant is actively growing and healthy. You want strong, green growth—not woody, stressed, or flowering stems.

What to Cut

Look for:

• 3–4 inch healthy shoots
• At least 2–3 nodes (those little bumps where leaves emerge)
• No pests, no disease, no drama

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Rooting Your Cuttings

You can root cuttings in many ways, but here’s our method:

• Use a moisture-retentive medium (we like Oasis or Root Riot cubes or similar propagation plugs).  Sterile potting soil, sand, vermiculite also works, but makes for a poor shipping experience (ask me how I know...)
• Keep consistently moist, not wet
• Provide bright light, but not harsh direct sun
• Warmth helps.  Cuttings root faster when they’re not cold and miserable

Yes, “not cold and miserable” is an official horticultural term.

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Pinching for Bigger Plants and More Tubers

This step is non-negotiable in our system.

To promote strong branching and tuber production, you must pinch your cuttings multiple times through the season.

Here’s how we do it:

• Once or twice while rooting (yes, even early)
• Again at planting time
• At least one more time during the growing season

Why? Because pinching forces the plant to branch. More branches = more energy production = more tubers.

It is not uncommon for us to see tuber formation starting before the plant even hits the garden. That’s exactly what we want.

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Planting Cuttings (This Part Matters)

Here’s where people often go wrong: they treat cuttings like delicate little flowers. We don’t.

The Golden Rule:  Pretend the rooting plug (Oasis) is a tuber.

That means it belongs 4 inches below the soil line.

How We Plant:

• Defoliate lower leaves before planting
• Dig a hole about 5 inches deep
• Place the rooting plug at the bottom
• Cover the plug and stem with soil
• Leave only about 2 sets of leaves above the soil

If your cutting is short, don’t panic.
Plant it deep anyway, then adjust soil level so it still ends up properly buried. By "adjust the soil level" I mean, still 5" deep, cover the oasis and stem so that there are still 2 sets of leaves above ground.  As it grows taller, back fill that hole.  This is important for tuber production.

The goal is always the same: deep, strong planting = strong tuber development.

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Acclimating Cuttings (Don’t Skip This)

Cuttings raised in controlled environments need time to adjust to the real world. Sun, wind, temperature swings, and actual weather are a shock to the system.

Here’s the transition plan:

1. Pot them up first (don’t rush straight into the garden)
2. Let them establish for a couple weeks
3. Move them into a shady outdoor spot for a few days
4. If possible, plant on a cloudy or rainy day

Rain and overcast skies dramatically reduce transplant shock. Think of it as nature’s “soft launch.”

After this short adjustment period, they are ready for normal garden life.

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Feeding Cuttings (They Are Hungrier Than Tubers)

This is a big one.

Cuttings do not have a tuber to support them early on. That means:

• Fewer stored nutrients
• Smaller root system at the start
• Higher immediate demand for food

So we feed them early and consistently.

Our Fertilizer Routine:

• At planting: water in with 50% water soluble fertilizer.  (Miracle-Gro is fine.  We use Vigor, made from fish and kelp).
• First 2 weeks: every watering includes 50% strength water soluble fertilizer or 50% Kelp Help (low nitrogen, high micro nutrients).
• We rotate between the two

After two weeks, you can transition to your normal feeding schedule as the plant establishes.

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Final Thoughts

Growing cuttings isn’t complicated, but it does require intention early on. Most failures don’t happen because cuttings are “hard”... they happen because they’re treated like they should just figure it out on their own. They won’t.

But if you:

• Start them correctly
• Pinch them consistently
• Plant them deeply
• Acclimate them properly
• And feed them like they matter

You’ll end up with strong plants, strong tuber production, and a lot fewer “what went wrong?” moments in July.

And if you want to level up even further?
Take your own cuttings from plants you already own. Worst case, you learn something. Best case, you suddenly realize you just turned one plant into five… and now you understand why people get addicted to this.

Welcome to the fun part.