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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: caroline7758 on April 27, 2007, 17:39:54

Title: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: caroline7758 on April 27, 2007, 17:39:54
Should all tomatoes have their sideshoots pinched out? I'm growing Gardeners Delight and Alicante (boring, I know!) and hoping to put them outside later, if that makes a difference.
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: Jeannine on April 27, 2007, 17:47:20
Only the varieties that are described as  vine aka cordon aka indeterminate.

But not the ones described as bush or determinate
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: GRACELAND on April 27, 2007, 17:49:58
Gardener's deligh can be left alone as can alot of the Cherry type Toms  ;)
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: pye on April 27, 2007, 18:00:11
Gardener's deligh can be left alone as can alot of the Cherry type Toms  ;)

GD is cordon, no? Have always pinched it out.  ???
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: GRACELAND on April 27, 2007, 18:03:09
No there ok Left alone really loads of small Toms then  :o ;D

Well I know you suposed to Side shoot But i have left them in the Past (GD)And there ok loads of Toms .. If you got one spare try one and see  ;D
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: davyw1 on April 27, 2007, 18:09:06
Should all tomatoes have their sideshoots pinched out? I'm growing Gardeners Delight and Alicante (boring, I know!) and hoping to put them outside later, if that makes a difference.
I nip out all the side shoots ( not on Bush type tho ) except the very top one
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: Jeannine on April 27, 2007, 18:19:49
Caroline, I guess you have to make up your own mind, however Alicante and Gardeners Delight are both indeterminate tomatoes and should be pruned, I do,
and get clusters of a dozen fruit on each truss and a great many trusses. I agree with the book on this one that leaving unnessary foliage on the vine can do no good ,it can  only reduce your fruit crop as energy is needed to support that growth, without the foliage more energy goes into the fruit itself.

XX Jeannine
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: Jeannine on April 27, 2007, 18:24:49
Davy, why do you pinch out the top growth on bush types? The top is the final truss when they have reached full height,unlike a vine which just keeps on growing.Pinching it out you are losing fruit.

XX Jeannine
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: cleo on April 27, 2007, 18:39:43
Both GD and Alicante should be nipped out. Alicante should be threatened with execution but if ripe and cooked then clemency-just this once ;D
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: davyw1 on April 27, 2007, 18:45:41
Davy, why do you pinch out the top growth on bush types? The top is the final truss when they have reached full height,unlike a vine which just keeps on growing.Pinching it out you are losing fruit.

XX Jeannine
I don,t nip anything out on bush toms. When i am nipping out my vine toms i all ways leave the very top sucker on until the tomato is fully grown WHY cos i am a class act at snapping the growing tip off, so if i do, i can let the top sucker grow on.
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: Jeannine on April 27, 2007, 19:04:27
Sorry Davy, I misread that, I thought you had put you don't sideshoot your bush except the very top one, Ithought that sounded odd !! XX Jeannine
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: davyw1 on April 27, 2007, 19:14:53
Jeannine, I am a bit odd. Today i done 10 X 16"  hanging baskets with tumbler in, i only have four brackets
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: Jeannine on April 27, 2007, 20:08:42
Well, that's easy, you hang one on your bracket,then you hook another one into the bottom of the first one until you have 4 in  hanging column, then repeat with the other 3 brackets..16 baskets..See easy.. just don't ask me how yoy pick 'em LOL  Good Luck XX Jeannine

You could place  a basket on  a table and let it hang down, or a pedestal. they look good like that.
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: manicscousers on April 27, 2007, 20:13:46
I stand some on buckets, with just the bottom in water, saves me watering them  ;D
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: davyw1 on April 27, 2007, 20:54:43
OH i know exactly what to do with them £7.50 each LOL
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: OliveOil on April 28, 2007, 06:12:47
someone please explain this pinching please - when should you do it??? I have about 40 tom plants all indeterminate.
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: tim on April 28, 2007, 06:45:51
I know that some people let everything grow but pinching out is the norm. Just sent this elsewhere -

"B****y typical - wiped off my photos only yesterday, thinking that they were 'old hat'!!

Until I get new ones - in a week or two - & speaking of indeterminate varieties - think on these lines:

Anything that grows nodally - ie out of the junction between the main stem & a leaf frond should be removed. Flower trusses grow internodally - ie directly out of the main stem, half way between the leaf fronds.

To avoid pinching out the growing tip, make sure there is a flower truss above the shoot you intend to remove. (DAVY please note!!)

Does that make sense?"
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: OliveOil on April 28, 2007, 07:30:11
I think so Tim - thank you!  Last year i let everything grow and got no fruit whatsoever... If i get stuck you will hear me yell!
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: davyw1 on April 28, 2007, 09:38:49
QUOTE TIN (To avoid pinching out the growing tip, make sure there is a flower truss above the shoot you intend to remove. (DAVY please note!!)}

I don,t  pinch out the growing tip i only remove the suckers. I think i may have phrased my earlier post wrong
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: caroline7758 on April 28, 2007, 09:52:32
Thanks, all, never grown outside before so wanted to check.
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: tim on April 28, 2007, 17:11:52
But, Davy - you're a class act..........??
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: davyw1 on April 28, 2007, 23:18:56
Oh i am a class act alright, I can remember when i could plant the whole of my garden for about a tenner now ?    the price of what i call specialist seeds IE cucumber. Carmen, Jessica and Aidas  five seeds to packet £12.10p no wonder i am wrong in the head.
I suppose some people would question why do i trench my beetroot, spring onion and carrots, grow carrots and parsnips in barrels, others in tubes.  I have two 20 foot Polly tunnels which i empty and change the soil every three years and riddle the new back in. The years in between each trench is dug out to the depth of 18" refreshed with manure and fertilizer and the top soil put to bottom, bottom soil to the top. Double dig all of the garden at the end of the season to start again. I ask you Tim are these the actions of a sane  person. I fear i am not alone on this site, there are more class acts out there on A4A Come on own up.
Now back to Tomato,s

A view from the gate
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r111/stumpinsci/Picture004.jpg)
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r111/stumpinsci/Picture003.jpg)

Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: caroline7758 on April 30, 2007, 20:09:06
OMG! :o
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: Jeannine on April 30, 2007, 21:48:48
Why fancy, it looks just like mine ........Not !!
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: veggiewomble on May 01, 2007, 13:56:03
I have the Sungold variety as well as Moneymaker, I have been pinching out the sideshoots... is this a good idea? I don't know what 'types' they are, bush or indeterminate.  :-[ I've only ever grown cherry tomatoes before and they gave me lots of tomatoes without my having to prune them.

vg
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: manicscousers on May 01, 2007, 14:12:35
we've got golden sunrise, pinching the sideshoots out, gardeners delight, even though they're cherries, I'm pinching them out..garden pearl, supersweet..not pinching, both tumblers..supersteak, pinch out ..big big tomatoes  ;D
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: pye on May 01, 2007, 15:54:21
I have the Sungold variety as well as Moneymaker, I have been pinching out the sideshoots... is this a good idea? I don't know what 'types' they are, bush or indeterminate.

Sungold is indeterminate/cordon and yep, you should pinch it. Cleo will be along shortly to tell you what to do with the Moneymaker  :-X
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: cleo on May 01, 2007, 16:23:45
Ha ha-pinch them off at the base of course ;D As to sungold that it a  class act-pinch out the side shoots
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: Jeannine on May 01, 2007, 16:25:04
Tumbler is a determinate bush and shouldn't be pruned. Money maker should be. XX Jeannine
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: tim on May 01, 2007, 16:40:19
oh, & commercial too, Davy!!

What do those lovely things cost?
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: davyw1 on May 01, 2007, 16:54:09
oh, & commercial too, Davy!!

What do those lovely things cost?
I am not commercial  TIM grow to eat and show altho i do sell a few flowers and baskets to get a bit of garden money back.
I presume you meant the Polly tunnel They only cost me the price of the skins £45. I made them from scaffold poles and 3" gas pipe.
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: tim on May 01, 2007, 17:44:54
Pretty brilliant.

What it is to be young!!
Title: Re: Pinching out tomato sideshoots
Post by: davyw1 on May 01, 2007, 22:22:25
Pretty brilliant.

What it is to be young!!
Tim I can remember what it was like to be young HeeHeeheeHee
Back to tomato,s. Unfortunately you cant see the other tunnel on the photos. I grow mine in Ring Culture and on a pyramid so when i water i water round the sides of the collar and never direct to the base of the Tomato. I always leave at least 6" from the base of the plant to the top of of my collar so this can be topped up above the new roots which will grow. My preference for watering is in the evening so the plant gets to drink without the sun taking the moisture away. I keep a few buckets af water spaced out in the tunnel to create humidity. Nip out all the side shoots ( not bush veriaties ) except the very top one. The rest is down to my prep and feed.
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