Greenhouse tomatos - advice please

[NSB]

Does anyone cut excess greenery from their tomato plants?

I'm over run with huge greenleaves and was thinking of cutting them back slightly

[Capsid]

Yes, this is good practice. It allows air and light to the trusses/fruit.

[Cloud]

When trusses start forming its a good idea to remove the lower leaves to let in light and air.If they are cordon tomatoes don't forget to remove the side shoots and when you have 4 trusses pinch out the growing tip to encourage ripening.

[treetops]

Thank you I will heed that advice to as I have loads of fruit on my befstaek tomatoes as well as lots of greenary.

[sallyw]

didnt know that will also take note thanks

[syanide]

How many can you get rid of? I didn't know this either and it will allow a lot more space in my concervatory!!! Do i get rid of the leaves up where the first truss is?

Thanks

(ps all cordon varieties)

[Flummery]

Usually. I often forget - it's me age, poor old dear! I've heard of people stripping the whole thing when it's set enough trusses. (Between 4 and 6 it's said) However, I reckon the leaves are there for a purpose. I do find that stripping the ones below the first truss does help with weeding the soil underneath (I grow them in the greenhouse border.)

[Capsid]

Commercial growers take off the bottom leaves to expose the developing trusses. But then they allow the plant to grow very long so there is always a fair amount of leaf. As shown here:



For us, I think removing the bottom leaves up to the first truss would work and maybe a few more as the plant reaches the top of the greenhouse.

[Bren In Pots]

I grow my toms on the kitchen window sill so I have to take most of their leaves off just so I can see out of the window.

[Kristen]

FWIW I don't take any leaves off my Toms - unless they are unhealthy. I reckon they are all producing "power" for the plant.

(My Toms are 2' apart in the greenhouse, so have plenty of air / space).

I think the stopping-them thing should be date dependent, not number of trusses, but I don't know what date would be right to get everything ripe by the end of the season. I'm going to make an experiment this season though.

[Jmtrevett]

i am taking out leaves here and there where they are shading trusses or being a pain.

I will have to stop my plants soon as they are reaching the top of the sloping green house roof!

I also didn't pay attention to sideshoots near the top of the plant and before I knew it each of my 3 cordons now have a 2 prong top!

The first truss on one of my cordons is being a bit hit and miss with fruit setting - I currently have 2 developing and about 4 that don't look like they will. I try and mist the flowers every day to help them set but is there anything else I can do or is this just a usual first truss thing?

My toms are Shirley by the way and I have 6 Romas (2 in greenhouse 4 outside as i couldn't bear to get rid of the plants once I'd grown them...so out came the bedding by the back door!) which are semi-determinate (apparently)

[RobintheBobin]

Brilliant advice - I've been quite nervous about removing the leaves but I can hardly move and my beef tomato is rather bushy even though it is supposed to be a cordon. Hmmmm...

[squashysu]

i dont know what cordon means, but i have just given my toms in the greenhouse a hair cut, as they were so bushy and it has made them far easier to water,

one thing i will note for next year is NOT to use grow bags, when they are flat, as the toms are getting heavy it is a nightmare trying to keep them upright, so for next year i am gonna do as others have suggested and use grow bags cut in cut and stood up, more room for roots and also keep the stem sturdier!

SS

[Kristen]

"is there anything else I can do or is this just a usual first truss thing?"

I tap the canes (like drumming-your-fingers on the table, only vertically!!) which dislodges the pollen. It generated that tomato-plant-smell which I presume is actually just pollen. I don't bother with the spraying thingie ... but my greenhouse is large, and therefore naturally pretty humid whereas I expect a smaller greenhouse would be more naturally drier.

[Demeter]

SS - Cordon = the indeterminate type of tomato where you take out sideshoots and grow them up canes.

Kristen - I have a 6' by 4' placcy greenhouse and it's very humid!