My greenhouse toms are now 18-20" high, & looking very strong. I have religiously taken off sideshoots, but noticed this morning that three plants - all Beefsteak - had developed Y forks in the cordon. The two sides appear perfectly equal, & not to have developed in the usual way from above a leaf stem. Are these in fact, sideshoots, and should I remove one side or leave them? The split is about 6" below the present crown of the plant, and the stems are about 1/2" in diameter.
JeremyB
I've found that happens sometimes, I live with it and give them an extra cane..
???
See my 'Win one, lose one'?
thanks tim, i read your post 'win one / lose one,' and didn't understand it, i felt too stupid to post a reply. they both looked like healthy plants to me.
Must confess - me likewise!
MEMO - take the plum out of your mouth when you speak!!
WIN - a missed sideshoot has equalled the main shoot - too late to cut it out. So 2 canes.
LOSE - the leader disappeared! Ends in a flower truss.
Comprenez??
Quote from: tim on May 18, 2006, 10:41:36
LOSE - the leader disappeared! Ends in a flower truss.
Marmande is a bugger for that, I have 2 plants so far doing this at the moment. They also like to give to leading points and I always umm and ahh about removing one or the other. Sometimes I do other times I let them get on with it.
Jerry
thanks. i've been pinching out the side shoots on the bottom part of the plants and thought you left the top part to grow up a bit before doing the same. oh well, i learn as i grow! night shift last night ...two and a half hours sleep...boy's are out of school in an hour.....i'm away up the plot to check my tomatoes with a worried look on my face.
Whoa!! Misunderstanding??
Steady - yes - you do leave the top to grow - only pinching out the side shoots as they appear - right up to 7 or 8 trusses.
Report back!!
aww tim too late........ i trimmed them off at the top with a petrol strimmer!! only kidding. i got a nice visitor to the plots to keep me right. looks like i'm spotting the side shoots ok and pinching them out, and letting the top grow up till i can see whats going to be the main stem. i thought they always grew with an obvious main stem. it's obvious i know nothing!! (but have fun learning.) this sites a godsend. if it gets tricky i'll go for a walk at the plots for advice or post a pic, thanks tim
What happens if you leave the sideshoots on a cordon variety? Anyone tried it?
You get an unholy messy tangle of 'branches' which become heavy and droop all over the place as smaller fruits set. My friend did this last year and couldn't even find the ripe fruit in the jungle he had. I've been trying to educate him to pinch out the side shoots, but already I've had to have a nag at him for failing to do this on the five plants he has in his greenhouse ::).
I do have to praise him though for the sturdy frames he has built for the toms and cucumbers at his place and mine, both in the GH's and outside :).
Tricia
I didn't realise that you had to pinch out sideshoots last year until it was too late! I still had a really good crop though. However. one plant broke under the weight, but fortunately it was towards the end of the season and I just picked the remaining toms and ripened them in a box.
This year I have religiously taken out the side shoots, but today noticed one of my sungolds has forked into two. I did not notice this two days ago and have to say was surprised how much they have grown in two days!
The other sungolds are still one stem and no sign of forking.
How I missed this happening is beyond me!
Quote from: weedbusta on May 18, 2006, 21:30:43
aww tim too late........ i trimmed them off at the top with a petrol strimmer!! only kidding. i got a nice visitor to the plots to keep me right. looks like i'm spotting the side shoots ok and pinching them out, and letting the top grow up till i can see whats going to be the main stem. i thought they always grew with an obvious main stem. it's obvious i know nothing!! (but have fun learning.) this sites a godsend. if it gets tricky i'll go for a walk at the plots for advice or post a pic, thanks tim
8)
Last year I replanted a side shoot and you get a new plant. I did it too late in the season but I guess if you did it with an earlier version it would be good. I have smiled this morning after reading this thread thank you so for entertaining me especially on a Friday morning. Can't be bad XX
i didn't pinch out the side shoots last year and hould hardly get in the greenhouse, i planted double rows and had to just about lie on the ground to get under the first lot to water the ones at the back. so this years got to be a major improvement.
If you use the ' sprawling ' or ' cage ' method of growing, you don't have to take out the side shoots. See the wiki (button at top of page) under edible plants/tomatoes/growing methods.
PS this is for info only not a recommendation, make your own choice
Nudge, nudge, Maggie! - not an inspiring photo, but just some of those that we've potted up for the plant sale this sodden weekend.
Do you have to trim the sideshoots on bush tomatoes as well, or do you leave them be. This is my first time growing tomatoes....
... also how do tell a young bush type from a vine type, I've had a blonde moment and mixed up all of my young plants. Apologies to any blondes out there.
Jon
1. No.
2. Please tell me!!
1) agree with Tim
2) you look at the packet ;D
ah, no matter how vigilant i am, i always end up with a couple of extra side shoots - i just add another cane and grow a little thicket.
oh dear, I have neglected to remove any sideshoots on my Gardeners Delight and Shirley plants. SOme of them have the bottom set of side shoots nearly as tall as the main stem.
First time growing toms guessed I boo-boo'ed :(
What effect will it have on them if any ? Anything I can do to salvage the situatin at this late stage???
Quote from: Spooky_uk on May 20, 2006, 18:47:36
oh dear, I have neglected to remove any sideshoots on my Gardeners Delight and Shirley plants. SOme of them have the bottom set of side shoots nearly as tall as the main stem.
First time growing toms guessed I boo-boo'ed :(
What effect will it have on them if any ? Anything I can do to salvage the situatin at this late stage???
I wouldn't worry, I haven't removed any of mine, just let them sprawl, or use a cage.
spooky, you can train two stems, pinching out the sideshoots on both, just stop them earlier. There's a thread which recommends this as THE way to grow! :)
Yes - SSprout - TWO stems. But me? - I would take out all but those that have set flowers. The getaways must surely take a lot of energy from the main stem? And they may not all have time to frut?
I think it was you who posted the link tim? :o
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/uncovered/gardening/tomatoes.shtml
and you may call me sprouty if it's easier ;)
'Twas. 'Tis it!
Good morning folks! I feel like a right plonker today - this is my first year growing cordon tomatoes and my first year growing toms in a greenhouse. I have read all the expert advice on growing fruit up one main stem and removing side shoots. Unfortunately, I followed this advice a little to religiously yesterday, and while I had my doubts about removing a 2" sideshoot that had small flowers buds already (there are already two trusses forming on the main stem of the 16" plant), I still went ahead thinking this was the 'correct' thing to do. To my horror on closer inspection of the pinched sideshoot, I saw it actually had three different trusses of about 6 fruit each forming!!! : :o :-[ :o I am now very confused - I thought sideshoots just started off as leafy bits you pinched as soon as they were big enough to pinch out (1 - 2 inches?). Is is normal for a sideshoot this small to actually have flower buds or have I somehow managed to pinch out something more major?? Does anyone have any advice on how to go about sideshooting skillfully so you don't inadvertently end up having less of a crop? Finally, I read with interest the article on groing two stems - the main stem and the 'king shoot' to prodcue earlier, prolific fruit - has anyone actually tried this more radical method?
many thanks for all the words for wisdom for this novice tomato grower! :)
Plonk away - join the club!! Interesting.
1. A flower truss almost always grows out well above a frond/stem join. See pic.
2. HOWEVER - to illustrate, I did a check. And found that, very unusually, it grows from the join!! Next pic.
3. The norm is for the 'sideshoot' that is removed to grow from the join. See pic.
Clear??
Thanks very much Tim - the illustrations are very useful indeed. I think I may well have sadly pinched a few flower trusses prematurely developing unusually from the stem joint (as per your second photo). I guess the moral of the story is don't pinch anything with visible flowers (even if it is appearing where a sideshoot normally emerges?).
Would really be interested in knowing when you pinch off top of main stem to enable fruit to set and ripen so as to not be left with alot of green fruit at the end of the seaon? I've now gotten advice for anything from end of June to end of August - live in a city with climate similar to London (Brussels) and growing Golden Sunrise, Alisa Criag, Alicante, Gardener's Delight, and Tigerrella indeterminates this year. Thanks again for any tips/advice!!
In a cold 'house - 'stop' at 7 trusses - depending on height of 'house - usually. I go mad sometimes & grow on to 10!
In a warm 'house - the sky's the limit.
Outside - usually 'stop' at 3 trusses.