Do I need pinch out new shoots to encourage Tomatos

k123456 wrote: »

Bought some Tomatoe plants (Alisa Craig), attempting to grow outdoors.

Do I need pinch out new shoots to encourage fruit, not sure which shoots to pinch out. ?

The short answer is no. Left to their own devices they should produce good fruit if they have a sunny position outside. In my first year of growing tomatoes (two years ago) I did just that, and I got plenty of tomatoes.

However, last year I wanted to grow in pots and up canes because my garden is small, so I pinched out the side shoots to encourage the plants to grow high. This approach also produced plenty of fruits despite the poor summer last year.

To identify side shoots, imagine your thumb is the trunk (stem) of the plant, and your first finger is the stem of a leaf growing from the trunk. Right where your thumb meets your first finger a shoot will start to grow - these are side shoots. I wait until they are long enough to get hold of, and then pinch them out.

Good luck.