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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: amphibian on June 03, 2009, 20:48:01

Title: Forking tomatoes
Post by: amphibian on June 03, 2009, 20:48:01
This year nearly all of my indeterminate tomatoes have forked in the last week, they are 12 varieties and while all the same age are different heights, as is to be expected, yet all have forked nearly at the the same time. Anyone else experienced this? I wonder if there is an environmental factor at play here, other than plain old luck.

By forking I mean they have developed two main stems with a fruit truss in the fork, the stems having developed at the same time as equals to one another, not as suckers from a leaf base.
Title: Re: Forking tomatoes
Post by: manicscousers on June 03, 2009, 21:16:41
the only ones of mine that have done this are the supersteaks, they do this regularly..yours are puzzling  ???
Title: Re: Forking tomatoes
Post by: davyw1 on June 03, 2009, 21:22:31
Its got to be a sucker grown above an under developed leaf stem which will grow on and develop tomatoes. Would i be about right that it s grew above the third truss
Title: Re: Forking tomatoes
Post by: amphibian on June 03, 2009, 22:29:15
Quote from: davyw1 on June 03, 2009, 21:22:31
Its got to be a sucker grown above an under developed leaf stem which will grow on and develop tomatoes. Would i be about right that it s grew above the third truss

I'm pretty sure they're not missed suckers, the main stem literally forks, with a fruit truss at centre, as you would expect to see on say a pepper plant.


I've seen it before, on occasion, but not as prolifically as this year.

I'll take a picture tomorrow.
Title: Re: Forking tomatoes
Post by: davyw1 on June 04, 2009, 18:21:34
It will be a sucker and its one that grows very quickly. What happens when the tomato gets to about its third truss for some reason the growing tip tends to bend and the sucker grows straight up,if you are not checking them vertualy every day the sucker  matches the growth of the growing tip and you end up with two growths.
Title: Re: Forking tomatoes
Post by: amphibian on June 04, 2009, 21:19:46
Fair enough, though I have grown toms for years and just never seen this happen like this year, where I have it on virtually every plant.

On one plant the fork is just below the first truss.