Give it a try and see what happens Hank... oh and let us all know :)

I find they are more inclined to send out suckers and side shoots after they've been stopped..and some varieties are more prone to it than others

I have tried it this year. I've taken suckers from my own Gardener's Delight toms and they've grown well and now have small toms on.
Will keep my eye on them and report back.

Yes, you can do that if you want, Hank. If you look very carefully at the tomato stems, you will see what looks like very fine hairs all along the stem. Each hair is a potential root. So a sucker is already a plant ready to go to town.

Just plant the sucker and all those hairs will develop into roots. Plant deeply to establish a strong healthy root system that can support many tomatoes.

Thanks B, i got the idea from the internet. A guy in America took suckers and stood them in water for a week or so and lots of fine hairs were produced, then he planted them deep in compost.
I just stuck them straight in the compost and everyone grew - even those with tiny trusses on.
I wonder which way is best ?

I'm by no means an expert. I just go with what works and that seems to be working for you. Since we are half way through August, stay with the suckers and treat them as new plants. Unless you have a greenhouse, seeds would need about 80 days to produce tomatoes.

I expected more comments than this. I thought many of you would have been doing this for years - with great results and would recommend the best toms to grow this way. Don't tell me I'm ahead of you for once ?

The "best" tomatoes are the ones you like to eat. Everybody has their favorite. I try to grow at least one cherry type, one beafsteak and something new - this year it was yellow pear but that plant withered and died overnight. I don't know why - I thought I gave it a good life. My other toms are doing great and I've been eating tomatoes everyday.