my toms have grown to 1.2m high (4’0”) and are fruiting in the hothouse.
next year i would like to stunt their growth so they are 3’0” by september – is it wise to pinch out their leading shoot?
most of the “tiny” toms are sprawling/bush type, so they’ll probably grow many new shoots just when you turn your back for a minute after cutting the leader. they’re also very prolific and start flowering/fruiting early….well before reaching mature size.
you can have late fruiting problems with toms if they’re fertilized early in life. i like to start them in pots with no fertilizer added, or maybe just a pinch of potash only….and only plant in soil when first flowers start to appear….which is about 1 foot high plant.
I can’t imagine any other way you could do it, Peps.
aquarium said:
most of the “tiny” toms are sprawling/bush type, so they’ll probably grow many new shoots just when you turn your back for a minute after cutting the leader. they’re also very prolific and start flowering/fruiting early….well before reaching mature size.
you can have late fruiting problems with toms if they’re fertilized early in life. i like to start them in pots with no fertilizer added, or maybe just a pinch of potash only….and only plant in soil when first flowers start to appear….which is about 1 foot high plant.
ok – one foot high is good. how old is a one foot high tom?
if i plant them in pots now they will be that high by sept.
but how do you thicken them up if they decide to grow lean and tall?
orchid40 said:
I can’t imagine any other way you could do it, Peps.
i’m growing ‘brandywine’ and ‘college challenger’
maybe they are not appropriate?
thin and tall seedlings means not enough light
i grew mortgage lifter and some italian perfect looking/shaped variety. the warty looking huge mortgage lifter toms were superb for all kinds of eating…the italian variety turned out pretty tasteless.
aquarium said:
thin and tall seedlings means not enough light
ouch – and true.
the old fibreglass is not what it should be – although it gets full north sun.
replace the f/glass pepe ! ok will do.
pepe said:
my toms have grown to 1.2m high (4’0”) and are fruiting in the hothouse.
next year i would like to stunt their growth so they are 3’0” by september – is it wise to pinch out their leading shoot?
Good question.
I had some left over tomato plants grown from seeds one year. Left them in the pots and just about forgot they were still around. I planted them out the following year and they actually grew once popped in soil.
Plants didn’t grow leggy while in the pots, stayed small and bushy and didn’t flower. (freaks)
I agree that light is probably your #1 issue. Also some varieties are more bush like than vine like (tomatoes are really more of a vine than a shrub). However if you cut your plant back it is likely to grow a new side shoot to replace it and you could then use that as your new leader. Or you could take cuttings and start new plants with them.
Pepe, i grow tomatoes all year round here. If i grow them on a stake as a single leader, they run out of stake within a few weeks. What i normally do is allow the single leader to grow until it’s about 6” to 1’ above ground level, (to lessen the amount of foliage on the soil), then i pinch out the main leader allowing 2 main leaders to grow.
Once they are about 2’ above the ground i pinch them out again. This causes multiple laterals to go berko and results in a shorter, more dense plant. (2m is still possible but that’s because i have such a long growing season.)
I use cages rather than stakes because it’s so much easier to control the multiple shoots. If the plants grow out of the top of the cage, they generally just lay down the side until they get enough support and away they go again.
I’m still eating the last tommies off a few plants which were plated in late Spring. Meantime i have some others about 2’ high with half developed fruit and still others about 6” high just starting to get moving with the longer days.
These latter ones are in a protected, Nth East facing microclimate.
bluegreen said:
I agree that light is probably your #1 issue. Also some varieties are more bush like than vine like (tomatoes are really more of a vine than a shrub). However if you cut your plant back it is likely to grow a new side shoot to replace it and you could then use that as your new leader. Or you could take cuttings and start new plants with them.
well i just replaced three of the old white f/glass panels with three new, clear polycarb panels in the hothouse and suddenly i have light and heat.
i’ll have to build a pergola out from the wall to shade it in summer because this is also my summer chook pen.
…but since i’m about to plant all my spring veg seeds i figure the morning’s work is long overdue and warranted. (it feels good to stop procrastinating and just do it).
how do you cut tom. cuttings to grow? take off laterals and pop them in potting mix?
Pepe, i grow tomatoes all year round here. If i grow them on a stake as a single leader, they run out of stake within a few weeks. What i normally do is allow the single leader to grow until it’s about 6” to 1’ above ground level, (to lessen the amount of foliage on the soil), then i pinch out the main leader allowing 2 main leaders to grow.
Once they are about 2’ above the ground i pinch them out again. This causes multiple laterals to go berko and results in a shorter, more dense plant. (2m is still possible but that’s because i have such a long growing season.)
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thanks longy.
i have read and understood – and i built cages last year.
i will do the pruning your way this coming summer.
I’ve taken the bits that I’ve pinched out, not sure what they’re called, or even they have a name. Where a branch comes out from the main stalk, and another bit grows in the groove. Well, anyway, I’ve taken that and bunged it in the ground, and had them grow. In fact, I dropped one in the kitchen window sill herb pot, and silly thing just wouldn’t die. I planned on planting it out, but just never got around to it. It grew about 3 foot, in about 4 inches of soil.
Also – if transplanting – plant deep. I strip off all but terminal leaves and just leave an inch or so above ground (this is punnet size seedlings) and they get a better root system – a bit like spuds…no fertiliser until first flower buds – helps keep the plants shorter and more compact. :)
SueBk said:
I’ve taken the bits that I’ve pinched out, not sure what they’re called, or even they have a name. Where a branch comes out from the main stalk, and another bit grows in the groove. Well, anyway, I’ve taken that and bunged it in the ground, and had them grow. In fact, I dropped one in the kitchen window sill herb pot, and silly thing just wouldn’t die. I planned on planting it out, but just never got around to it. It grew about 3 foot, in about 4 inches of soil.
amazing – the things i learn in a forum that i never would have imagined.
i call those bits ‘laterals’.
pepe said:
how do you cut tom. cuttings to grow? take off laterals and pop them in potting mix?
yep :)
these are both large climbing tomatoes ..I have had them over 6 ft..beautiful tomm’s tho
brandy wine is a particular fav
sweetpea2008 said:
these are both large climbing tomatoes ..I have had them over 6 ft..beautiful tomm’s tho
brandy wine is a particular fav. prune the tip hard when they are young ..encouraging them to bush out …use a wire cage not stakes .. good luck
thanks sweetpea.
As I’ve got more height than width (2.7m ceiling but 7 pots in 3m horizontally) i’ll try the string method. Trim all the lower shoots up to where the first flowers are (about 1+m off floor) and twist them up strings dangling from the ceiling. Good to know college challenger and brandywine are tall climbers.