Tomato newbie

david75

Here's a pic of my tomato plants. I have the two on the bottom left tied up(read somewhere that you're supposed to do this) the rest are left to their own devices. My questions, should I tie them all up? And should I be pruning and if so what should I prune?
Thanks in advance:)

redser7

Hi - staking and pruning will depend on what type of tomato plant they are. The label should tell you.
Cordon types which are grown upwards are usually tied into a tall cane or else up a string. They are grown as a tall vine and usually end up 5 - 8 feet tall. The side shoots should be removed. These are the shoots that grow in the axis of a leafy branch and the main stem.
Bush types dont need to be staked in the same way as cordons. But often a stake of some sort is recommended to stop them flopping sideways. As the name suggests, these are bushy and wide plants as opposed to tall slender cordon plants. Do not pinch out the shoots on bush types. Just let them get on with it and fruit will form on those sideshoots.
Hope that helps. In fairness it's just a quick run down.

david75

Thanks Redser. They're all cherry tomatoes(i think?)

redser7

Cherries would tend to be bush types. But not always. Do you have the names?

david75

Don't seem to have kept the packets or any record in my GIY diary.
Bugger!!

redser7

Ah not to worry. If they are cherries then they are more likely to be bush types. So dont pinch out or prune anything. It's a bit of a gamble but what can you do. If you notice that some are growing particularly vertically rather than bush-like then you can grow it as a cordon.

david75

Yeah they seem to be jumping out horizontally but the main stem deffo seems to need support. I'll just tie up the main stems for support so. Thanks again:)

CorsendonkX

I never noticed the difference between bush and cordon toms, anytime I have grown them I treated both the same way, trained them up string, removed side shoots and ended up with an 8ft plant.

redser7

Well maybe the difference isn't always as noticable in a country with such a short growing season as Ireland's, but the bush types would be determinate and crop over a short time whereas the indeterminate cordons keep going. So if you pinch out the shoots on the bushes you're taking away from the final amount of fruit.
Both can be grown like the other but to maximise the crop I guess the theory is to let the bushes crop heavily over a short time and the cordons gradually over a longer time.
I have a few maskotka for example which is a mini bush. There's no way that would ever get to 8 foot It hits about 2 - 3 foot tall and just keeps going outwards. It's full of fruit at various stages now but not putting out any more new flowers.

david75

I'm not sure if mine are bush or vine. I've just tied the main stem up and let the 'branches' all hang loose. Some of the bigger ones seem to heavy and are drooping, and there's not a tomato in sight yet, though there are quite a few flowers on some of them.ill just leave them alone and keep feeding them every week.
Thanks lads.

redser7

What's the history with them? When did you sow the seed? How long are they in those pots? How old is e compost in the pots and what size the pots? No chance of findin out the names?

david75

Hey
One set were planted 19 match and another set about a week later. They were all put in pots outside and all but two pots have come one, weird.
3 of them are over a foot tall so this week I put them into huge flower pots, tied 1 to a stake and the other two, to string the top of which is tied to the fence their beside. The rest were also all transplanted into bigger pots yesterday and the day before( that pic I posted) though I'll obviously have to move the little ones(not pictured) into bigger pots.
Used brand new compost on all of them upon transporting and have been feeding them with tomato feed once a week for the last month(I'm late with that, I know)

That's about it I think? Some later ones I set a few weeks ago I think were regular tomatoes(gardeners friends or millionaire or something?)

Lesson learned. Gonna start writing down names and keeping more detailed records!!!

redser7

Absolutely. Next year will be better. That's my motto
Gardeners delight? Sweet million?if its those then they are both vine tomatoes that you grow up a cane or string. And you nip out the side shoots.

This is a great book to start with ...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0903505460/ref=sr_1_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372890133&sr=1-1&keywords=the+vegetable+expert&condition=used

1p plus delivery

david75

Side shoots? does that mean like all the 'branches' and just leave the bush on top?

I'll deffo get that book. Thanks so much for all your help Redser!

redser7

No!
the anatomy is like this ... You have the main stem. You have leafy branches that grow off the stem. You have trusses which are basically the flowering parts that develop into tomatoes. These grow off the stem also. look closely and learn to recognise the difference.
Then you have sideshoots. Sideshoots are basically more main stems. Tomatoes left to their own devices will grow into a messy mass of stems that keep going on so long as there is heat and light. Here in Ireland we don't have much of these so we want to stop the plant developing stems. The idea is to focus the plant energy into ripening as many tomatoes as we can in our short cool summer. So we cut out or nip out with your thumb nail and forefinger the sideshoots. This lets the plant pump energy into the toms. The sideshoots grow in the axis of the stem and a leafy branch. Take a look at your plants, you'll spot them immediately. Problem is you can miss them easily and in the space of a week they can grow a few inches long.
You can cut them off and pop them into water and they will form roots to make a new plant.
Toms are great hard to kill and easy to propagate. The skill comes in finding the right balance that will give you the biggest crop.

Find the time to read this ...
http://nickykylegardening.com/blog/157-tomato-report-2012

david75

I know the ones you mean!! A good few of them have come on on a few of mine should I cut them off even though they're quite big here and there?

I'm going to hospital today so ill read that while I'm waiting. Thanks!

redser7

Yes cut them off. Use a sharp knife or scissors. You don't want a frayed end that can get infected, just a nice clean cut near where it joins the stem. Smaller ones will snap off nicely if you push them to the side.
Pop the off cut in a tall glass of water for an experiment

CorsendonkX

Side shoots easily break on toms, you shouldn't have to use a knife to remove them. Just pinch them out when they are an inch or 2. Letting them grow any longer just wastes plant nutrition.

I use this training system. Better than a cane support system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rCLU6GlouI

Tip: twist the plant first around the string before shooting as on cold days the head can snap off so you will need one of the side shoots to become the new plant head. I shoot and twist the plants regularly about once a week. If I miss a shoot and a truss has developed on the shoot I pinch the head off the shoot out and leave the truss to develop.

redser7

In an ideal world we'd catch all the sideshoots nice and small. But if you miss one and they get big and thick I find its best to cut them. Don't want to have to rip it and risk tearing a strip down the main stem.
I read the break more readily in the evening time.

CorsendonkX

redser7 wrote: »

In an ideal world we'd catch all the sideshoots nice and small. But if you miss one and they get big and thick I find its best to cut them. Don't want to have to rip it and risk tearing a strip down the main stem.
I read the break more readily in the evening time.

Early morning or evening. Even with big shoots if you have the correct technique you can break the shoot cleanly without using a knife or scissors. As I said with a missed large shoot just pinch the head out with your fingers and leave the truss so no need for a knife.

redser7

Better work on my technique so
I'm leaving a couple plants to develop 3 stems each and push the number of trusses to maybe 15 or 20. They were early sown so if its a half decent summer might work out.

david75

I keep reading about suckers. Are they those branches that don't do anything? Should I have at them with a clippers?

redser7

Suckers are the same thing as sideshoots. Here's a photo, 4 posts down ...

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/vegging-out/71654-few-questions-about-my-tomato-plants-3.html

david75

Ah I'll leave em alone so. I have 15 plants on the go. Be afraid I'd do more harm than good. Thanks redser

redser7

hmm, things is on some type (known as vine or cordon or indeterminate) you need to take them out.
Bush types, keep them on.
I will be easier next year as you will know from day 1 how you will grow them, based on the info on the seed pachet.

david75

These lads are flying up. Some tiny baby green tomatoes here and there yet some of the flowers seem to be falling off having rotted and dot seem to be producing.
I'll be happy with even a few successful ones to be honest:)
They're being well fed and looked after:)

hairynipple

Heres how my moneymakers are doing. Cant wait for the first ripe one! Its gona be a bumber crop hopefully thanks to our mediterranean summer!!

david75

Wow. They're well on!

david75

So I've been away and come back to what looks like chaos!
Anyone know what I should do with these? They look like they need space(which I don't have) and tying up. Any help appreciated

Marzipan85

Hi
I'm also a newbie to growing tomatoes this year. Sown at the end of May. The indoor ones are very leggy. Seems obvious now that they were waiting to get above shaded area before fruiting.

martinn123

Bumper crop, thanks to the weather

Just starting to ripen, anyone picking yet??

Supercell

The odd one of mine is starting to ripen outside, and gets quickly nabbed by my wife or son! Theres loads of them so I'm hoping when the mass ripening happens later that I'll get a look in My father has some Gardeners Delight in his greenhouse which are bright red already.

CorsendonkX

martinn123 wrote: »

Bumper crop, thanks to the weather

Just starting to ripen, anyone picking yet??

I went for cherry toms this year so they started ripening two weeks ago but the bloody blackbirds keep eating them. I must be losing 2 out of every 5 that ripen and I have to pick them as soon as they start to ripen which is not what I want. I never seen it so bad for bird damage.

redser7

Been eating them since the first week of June. These ones were Maskotka, sown back in February. Great early variety that gives tons of large cherries on a semi bush plant.
Also harvesting sungold and Rosada for the last few weeks. It was hard work nursing them through the cold and dark months of late Winter and Spring but definately worth it.

Mo60

redser7 wrote: »

Been eating them since the first week of June. .

Mine are only just beginning to form fruit.

How did you keep yours protected earlier in the year ?

redser7

Some I grew on under fl. lights for a few weeks and then I had to grow them on window sills. Very messy and exhausting at times.
But I'm in the process of putting a greenhouse up out the back so should be much easier next year

martinn123

Nearly there, first fruit starting to turn Red

Couple of weeks, and I will be up my neck in Toms, Yipee:D

Marzipan85

Outdoor tomatoes are looking a lot more normal. The fruit are growing in the right order, whereas indoor one are skipping certain flowers and growing fruit lower down the truss, if that makes sense. Also, the outdoor ones have much sturdier stems and trusses.

Also included pic of my first indoor pepper.

rgiller

martinn123 wrote: »

Nearly there, first fruit starting to turn Red

Couple of weeks, and I will be up my neck in Toms, Yipee:D

Looks like you've trimmed back all the shoots apart from ones carrying fruit/flowers. Is this the right way to do it? I've done some trimming but was worried about removing too many leaves and leaving the plant unable to photosynthesise enough to power the fruit on. Any advice welcome here!

Supercell

I'm very curious about the windy string i see in some of the pictures, what's that all about? I stake mine with bamboo canes but am intrigued by the string!

CorsendonkX

Supercell wrote: »

I'm very curious about the windy string i see in some of the pictures, what's that all about? I stake mine with bamboo canes but am intrigued by the string!

Its the way they train non bush tomatoes in the commercial glasshouses, gives the fruit better support than canes and you twist the string around the plant as it grows.

yellowlabrador

Supercell wrote: »

I'm very curious about the windy string i see in some of the pictures, what's that all about? I stake mine with bamboo canes but am intrigued by the string!

Instead of using a cane, you can tie a string at the bottom of the plant and then tie the string to a support above and wind the plant round the string as it grows. With a cane, the plant can topple over with wind or it can be harder to secure as the stem might not be straight.

Supercell

Thats really interesting, I'm definitely going to give it a try next year. Is it as strong as a bamboo on a breezy day?. Some of my tomatoes are now about 2 metres high and the bamboo's are definitely feeling the strain!

redser7

They are indeed. Jute would be a traditional string to use, but natural fibers can rot and break. So use strong but soft man-made string just to be sure.

martinn123

Supercell wrote: »

Thats really interesting, I'm definitely going to give it a try next year. Is it as strong as a bamboo on a breezy day?. Some of my tomatoes are now about 2 metres high and the bamboo's are definitely feeling the strain!

+ 1 on the Jute, you secure the string to a frame above, or the frame of the Glasshouse, tie a knot around the bottom of the plant.
As it grows, wind the plant around the string, about once a week, as the string will flex in the wind its not as rigid as a bamboo, works great.

rgiller

rgiller wrote: »

Looks like you've trimmed back all the shoots apart from ones carrying fruit/flowers. Is this the right way to do it? I've done some trimming but was worried about removing too many leaves and leaving the plant unable to photosynthesise enough to power the fruit on. Any advice welcome here!

Any advice here lads?

martinn123

rgiller wrote: »

Any advice here lads?

Topic being discussed here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057014062

scroll down to post#13. and chip in.

Marzipan85

Hi all,

It's the end of August now and tomatoes are still green. If I leave them outside and will they eventually ripen? Or should I just pluck off the big ones and let them ripen on a warm windowsill? Any advice let me know.

Below are two pics of the two lowest trusses on my (cherry) tomato plants.

Thanks
M

redser7

Don't pick them. Leave them on the plant. Nip out any new trusses or existing flowers and hoe that the set fruit ripens. They keep going till the frost gets them

Marzipan85

Hi again,

Redser, or anyone who can advise, how do I know if the frost has affected my plants? Will the plant start to wither? Think the weather forecast said there would be a bit of frost last night. If plants do succumb to frost, do I then cut off trusses and bring indoors? (most tomatoes are still green, a few have started to change colour)

Thanks,
M

redser7

Ah you will know. The foliage and stems will blacken and/or turn to mush.
If they just get a little burnt on he edges you can take off damaged foliage. But try protect them by bringing them under cover. You can also use fleece but that only gives so much protection.