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Post by octave1 on Jul 17, 2022 18:08:18 GMT -5
How many leaves do tomato plants need to stay alive and produce fruits?
I am asking this because I am trying to understand the difference between pruning/no pruning methods pertaining to indeterminate plants. I see pictures, as well as videos on YouTube, of tomato plants pruned to a single stem, maybe 5 ft tall, with no more that 10 leaves and several clusters of really nice and large tomatoes. They all look healthy even if 98% of foliage is not there.
I, on the other hand, don't prune tomato plants, and have all this vegetation grow unchecked. Some people say that plenty of leaves on tomato plants are necessary for flavor, but those who prune to a single stem maintain that their tomatoes are just as tasty and ripen faster. Am I missing something? And what is the best way to grow tomato plants for both yield and flavor?
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 17, 2022 18:32:46 GMT -5
I used to not prune my tomatoes, and almost all of them are indeterminate. This year, I followed instructions on one article to trim to 2 main stems, and pulled almost all of the suckers, though after a while, it's impossible to keep up with 28 tomato plants. And then there's the cucurbits - those things I am also trying to keep controlled by letting every 5th or so of the suckers grow into vines. It's helped with all of them, but it's really just doing it as I go by for something else now, like harvest. Did this help me with the earlier than normal harvesting? I'd only know if I did an experiment, with 2 of the same variety, where all else was the same, and only one is trimmed.
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Post by paulf on Jul 17, 2022 18:33:13 GMT -5
Can of worms! Being solidly in the non-prune camp, I really don't care how many leaves it takes to make a good tomato. I will never chop off the fingers or arms of my friends.
It would, however, be interesting to see somebody do experimentation on how many leaves could be removed from a plant before it dies a horrible death (tongue in cheek so I am not ostracized).
Pruners will prune and non-pruners will cringe.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 17, 2022 18:49:53 GMT -5
paulf The main pruning I do is just the suckers, before they develop. When I miss one, and it's 2 feet long a couple days later, I just let it grow, or with those cucurbits, I pinch off the growing tip.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2022 19:47:25 GMT -5
Normally not much of a pruner myself, maybe only problem branches or after the plant is tall, cleaning off the very bottom area to prevent splash ups.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 22, 2022 9:26:18 GMT -5
I also grow mostly indeterminates and I only prune the suckers until the plants get big enough. I like to have the stem bare for 12-18" above the soil. This is not for tomato production or taste but to prevent disease spores from splashing up from the soil onto the leaves.
I use tomato cages so there is no need for me to tie up any branches. My tomatoes are starting to look like a jungle by July (now). I actually feel that the tomato fruits will have a better flavor if given some shade by the foliage rather than sitting out in the full sun.
The only other time I prune is if I see blight, I cut that branch off.
I also have to prune the tops of cherry tomatoes if they get a lot taller than my 5' cages.
Thinking about getting too tall I remember that I do prune the tops of other tomato plants in the fall if there is no time for new fruits to form. I feel that the plant will be better able to put all of its energy into maturing the fruits that have already formed.
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Post by paulf on Jul 22, 2022 10:13:28 GMT -5
I also grow mostly indeterminates and I only prune the suckers until the plants get big enough. I like to have the stem bare for 12-18" above the soil. This is not for tomato production or taste but to prevent disease spores from splashing up from the soil onto the leaves. I also have to prune the tops of cherry tomatoes if they get a lot taller than my 5' cages. Agree with this quote except when there is a cherry the plant fountains over the top of the cage and down towards the ground. By this time I am sick of picking cherries and could care less if they don't produce any more. September when frost is coming we have had enough tomatoes so if there are greenies left over, so what? I also prune the bottom so as not to invite soil borne diseases but it is too much effort to prune anything else...lazy gardener here.
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Post by octave1 on Jul 22, 2022 12:52:19 GMT -5
Since I have volunteers of unknown varieties grow in spots other than my tomato beds, I am now experimenting with pruning to a single stem. I placed a bamboo cane next to the plants for support and pruned away everything, leaving one main stem, the leaves emanating from such stem, and all the tomato clusters. These are the results at the moment: From a "relaxed" gardener's point of view, pruning to single stem is perhaps the ideal way to grow tomatoes. The plant is tidy (well, almost bare), there is no need for cages, and the tomatoes are easy to pick. In addition to that, one can grow many more tomato plants in the same space. Not sure on this, but this method may even considerably cut down on the need for water and fertilization. Flavor: so far my single stem tomato plants have turned out to be red cherry (which I don't usually grow, so probably the seeds came from store bought tomatoes). One is small and the other large and they both taste good, but cherry in general are quite tasty. Are they larger than the traditionally grown counterpart? I would say no. Are they ripening earlier than other cherry tomatoes? No. My Sungold were earlier. Production: with cherry it's a no-brainer. Nothing can beat a traditionally grown plant of cherry tomatoes for production, so single stem is a huge loss. Aside from cherry, I have 3 more plants trained to single stem, and they are normal salad tomatoes (at least this is what they appear to be). I will know more about those plants once the fruits ripen, and then I'll draw some conclusion.
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Post by spike on Jul 22, 2022 15:07:06 GMT -5
Wait? What? I have never pruned a tomato plant? Is this something you are supposed to do?
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Post by paulf on Jul 22, 2022 20:05:30 GMT -5
Wait? What? I have never pruned a tomato plant? Is this something you are supposed to do? My answer is no except to keep the bottom leaves from dragging the ground.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 23, 2022 12:44:24 GMT -5
I am in the limited pruning camp, too. Since most tomatoes don't set fruit in the summer here, the only crop I am likely to get from my spring-planted tomatoes is from the fruit that sets before Memorial Day. When I try a fall crop, I have the issue of beating frost, so again only the tomatoes that set early in the fall are likely to ripen or reach mature green stage (mature enough to ripen indoors) before frost. This means that in both spring and fall seasons I avoid early pruning entirely if possible. I don't want to prune off any potential blooms early in the season.
Later on in the season, because my garden is small, I usually need to prune stray branches growing in awkward places (blocking the paths, etc), broken branches, and sometimes I prune everything off the lower parts of the plants to remove diseased growth. (By that point the fruit on the bottom of the plant is already gone.)
I suppose another way to do it is to plant more tomato plants on closer spacing and keep every one of them pruned and trained to a single stem trained to a stake or trellis. But honestly that seems like too much bother.
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Post by rdback on Jul 24, 2022 10:41:31 GMT -5
Wait? What? I have never pruned a tomato plant? Is this something you are supposed to do?
Me neither. My way of thinking is I grow tomato plants with the goal of harvesting ripe tomatoes. Typically, I do this every year, to excess. I have too many other things that require my attention, so the tomatoes just do their thing. It works for me.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jul 24, 2022 23:28:03 GMT -5
That would be a big NO unless you count mowing one over by accident.
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Post by september on Jul 25, 2022 9:04:24 GMT -5
Limited pruning, like Laura_in_FL , I take off the lower branches that snake out into the pathways. I should do it while they are small to save energy for the plant for use elsewhere, but never get around to it until they are a problem. I've noticed that different varieties of tomatoes have different growth habits, so some are less pruneable. I have a Piennolo del Vesuvio that has very few side branchings, just a long skinny limp PL vine, I feel like I have to save every sucker if I'm to get much from it. Most cherries though are monsters, and since I'm not really a cherry fan and don't need that many fruits, I prune them ruthlessly to keep them off the bed of flowers planted in front of them.
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Post by octave1 on Jul 25, 2022 12:17:45 GMT -5
september , I am looking at pics of Piennolo plants online and they remind me very much of cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes grow in clusters of 6+ fruits, which is more of a cherry tomato fruit development pattern. After my (limited) findings on pruning cherry tomato plants, I wouldn't want to prune Piennolo at all, most definitely. This said, I am beginning to think that pruning to single stem works much better for large varieties. Tomatoes like Brandywine and similar types don't produce a lot of fruits in the first place, so pruning may actually help stimulate productivity. I will research more, and compare what I find with my personal experience. Still too early to tell.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2022 13:18:48 GMT -5
The sun is too fierce here to prune hard, want the covering to protect from sun scalding. Plus, I don't see the point for it for myself, but any one does as best for their garden and climate. I am looking at shade cloth maybe for next year.
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