I've always heard you should pick off the little "suckers" on tomato plants, because they would never bear, so I've been a good little 'mater mamma, and been diligent to try to get them all. Of course, once in a while I'll see one I've missed. Recently, I've seen two that have gotten quite large, and hmmmmm???, they have blooms on them. I'm not saying there's fruit, but definately blooms. So, what is the real truth about those llittle suckers?
Tell me the truth, please.
There are two main schools of thought on tomatoes, one is to pinch every sucker because they will rob the plant of strength etc, etc. Two is to let them go.
I am way too busy/lazy to pinch, I always miss some anyway. My tomatoes are heirlooms, are loosely caged, sometimes just sprawl around. I guess they could be called free range tomatoes.
I get tons of tomatoes on the suckers as well as the main trunk so I don't worry about it. The only time I prune it is to get rid of something not where it belongs like a scraggly branch or too thick leaves that block air flow. My dad was a sucker hater and religiously pinched, pruned and culled them. When the plants grew over the tops of his cages, he pinched them back. Mine just bend over and grow back toward the ground. Now he got a lot of tomatoes, all hybrids that I don't think ever would have grown to the six feet of my plants.
Do what makes you happy and don't sweat the ones you miss if you pinch.
Here is my row of San Marzano and Oxhearts. And a couple free range ones.
I thought the idea behind getting rid of suckers was to get fewer but bigger tomatoes. id rather have lots than bigger so I don't pinch.
Well, suckers definitely produce, but lots of people prune them since they want bigger tomatoes. I'm w/ you Marty, I'd rather have more tomatoes, period, so I don't prune off the suckers. I did however, remove everything below the first fruit cluster and some of the non flowering branches that were preventing good air flow. As well as any leaves that are yellowing or touching the ground.
Found this link on a previous tomato thread, the last paragraph pretty much sums it up.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/hort/ext/veg/reports/tomvar00f/tomvar00.html
If you want bigger fruit, prune. If you want a larger total yield, don't prune. It does specify that reduced yields due to pruning can be offset by planting more plants, but just spacing them closer together. So if you were spacing plants 2'+ apart, you could go down to 12-18" with the smaller pruned plants. Helpful if space is an issue and you still want the most bang for your buck.
I don't prune and I love the size of my maters! Also, I think it's a pain the the rear to have to prune. I don't have enough time in the garden and I'm not going to spend what time I do have pruning the maters.
I pinch the nice big suckers off and stick them in a pot to root, so far it's working great. I just pull off all but the top couple sets of leaves, stick the whole stem in the dirt, water it a bit, and they do the rest. Also cut back a large tomato plant and it's bushing out again as well.
Penny, I've done that w good results also. I lost two plants early on and replaced them w the lowest suckers from 'Matt's Wild Cherry' (my most vigorous growers). I stuck them straight into the holes the previous plants had died in, and even forgot to dip in rooting hormone first. They're happy as can be :)
Steph, yep pruning sucks! Why create more work?
Got 7 Homeslice starts doing very well :) The large plant is in a pot with a strawberry. I saw a youtube video on cutting a tomato plant back so I figured why not try it since I didn't want to disturb the strawberry by pulling the tomato up. So far the experiment is working.
I am not sure I need bigger tomatoes. I just weighed the Oxhearts from yesterday. 2# was the heaviest, 3/4# was the lightest. My SMs are huge compared to my Roma's from last year. They do really well in heavily composted beds and soakers or drip waterers. I usually start some suckers in July for fall, so I don't miss the fall window.
Wow, lots of information. Thanks, all.
If it makes you feel any better, I had to go on a hunt in my tomato patch and pick today's tomatoes! LOL Here's a pic of my tomato jungle.
Good golly, Stephanie! That's quite a jungle! I'd be glad to help you round up some tomatoes anytime. :D
Here's my harvest from the day before yesterday and today.
Looks great, Steph. I don't have any tomatoes yet, but mine is a jungle, too. I have started getting zukes, though. I went out this morning when I first got up, picked the one zuchinni that was ready, took it inside and made an omelet. So fun.
I used to be a sucker buster. But now I just let the tomatoes do their own thing. I will prune the tops if they are getting too tall, though. My garden is in a windy location and if the plants start to flop over beyond their support then they start to wave in the breeze and risk getting snapped off anyway. If I'm really wanting some big 'maters I'll pick just one plant and pinch the suckers on that one. Just for the fun of it. I'm finding that I'm too busy weeding here in Texas to spend time pinching suckers. Not so many weeds in Illinois garden when I was a sucker buster!