Topic: Should I prune my tomatoes..?

[wraith]

I have some 'moneymaker & Gardeners Delight & Tumbler' plants growing in planters on the back patio... they are supported with string which I have had to redo a few times as they grow...

They are currently over 6 feet tall and as I have never grown tomatoes before I was wondering if I am doing things correctly..?

Also should I be pruning them due to their height..?

They have in excess of 100 flowers on them and most have baby tomatoes on ranging from the size of a pea to the size of a wallnut..?

Should I nip out the two little growing leaves at the top of each stem..?

Should I prune back the foliage around the bottom where the toms are starting to grow..?

Can anyone give me a basic (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, etc) that applies to their care...?

God knows whats happened to the 'Tumbler' tomatoes... they started in hanging baskets but soon grew so big that I felt I should move them, which I did... they too are now about six feet tall...lol

Many thanks,


wraith

[Tee Gee]

This might help;

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Tomato/Tomatoes.htm

Click on the words location & culture and you will get a slide show.

If you need further assistance shout!

[wraith]

This might help;

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Tomato/Tomatoes.htm

Click on the words location & culture and you will get a slide show.

If you need further assistance shout!

So, do I take it from that that there is no need to prune or remove the lower foliage...?

My Father-in-law told me theat there would be little shoots appearing in the joints of branches that need pricking out (which I've done) but just was wondering what else was needed...

By the sounds of things I just need to leave them alon and keep them well watered and wait for the toms to ripen...?

Many thanks,


wraith

[Sinbad7]

Hi Tee Gee

For all the years I've grown I am useless at pricking out the side shoots, so this is another year where they have run amok.  I've been itching to strip a lot of the leaves off but because of the weather (humidity)  I haven't done so thinking it might make them more susceptible to blight.

Do you think it would as they are all laden with tomatoes?  In fact have just eaten my first 2 today for lunch.  Mind, these were just cherry toms.

[plainleaf]

i never prune my plant and it does not seem to affect the harvest.
As pruning to prevent blight it does not seem to be an effective strategy.
Since pruners seem to have suffer from blight just as much as none pruners. 

[Flighty]

Wraith you might want to pinch the tops out otherwise they will just keep on growing when you want them to concentrate on fruiting!
With cordon varieties it's usual to pinch them out after the fourth truss.

[babyrhino]

Always prune mine as you want want the growth in the foliage and also it lets the air get to the fruit and makes it less likely to get blight ( supposedly ) . When the fruit are starting to ripen I just leave a branch above each truss and all the  rest I remove . Different for the Gardner's delight just take off excess foliage but not the side shoots just keep them tidy . Hope this helps .

regards

Nick

[Tee Gee]

I am not quite sure what you mean by 'pruning'

My guess is you have allowed side shoots to develop and there are many wayward shoots that make the plant/s look congested.

If this is the case it might be of detriment to the plant to remove them all so my suggestion is;

If a plant is grown as a pure cordon with no side shoots I would allow it to produce around six trusses at most, as in this case where it is not a true cordon I would still go for the six trusses.

Meaning cut the weakest side shoots out (including trusses) to leave a total of six trusses on each plant!

I await the response ( for/against) this procedure from other growers  ;) ::)

Ok I'll go to seven trusses  ;D

[Jeannine]

Don't remove the side shoots from the tumbler, it is a determinate one, the others are indeterminate.XX Jeannine

[dtw]

What fertiliser are you using? sounds like a good one!