can i just leave em?

[lynda66]

right i got my trusses in a twist and summat in a knot with my knickers

wot .... in plain lynda has no idea what you're talking about despite 43 gardening books speak ........ is a truss

how do you know if you should remove em or not ... and which bit do you remove and why?

and as it all seems far too complicated ....... if i just leave the toms to do their own thing will i break em??

Ta xxx

[craiglockley]

The truss is basically where the flowers appear. You can leave most tomatoes and they form a bush though some types are designed to climb which means you'd need to pinch out side shoots.

[Sweepster]

Knickers should be removed if you find you've got more than six pairs on. Any more than that and you'll grow too tall and fall over.

M&S do some excellent trusses, but they require delicate handwashing.

[lynda66]

*faints* did i mean side shoots not trusses then ...... *goes to S&M ... knickers i understand


maybe it would help if i knew which ones should be 20 ft high then .... hmmmm

[shirlthegirl43]

Assuming you are enquiring about tomatoes here Lynda, when I first grew them I wasn't quite sure which were side shoots and which were flower trusses so I left the shoots for a wee while to see if they formed flowers. If not I pinched them off. If you leave a side shoot to get a few inches long, you can push it into damp compost and it will usually root and give you another plant. Hope that helps with your knotty problem

[zazen999]

Lynda.

I am off out in a minute, but there was a thread on here which had definitions on what in/determinate meant, and what vine/bush differences were.

It was only within the last 2 days.

[SarzWix]

"Trusses" are the long bits that get flowers on and turn into tomatoes. On the tall types of tomato plant (also known as 'Indeterminate', 'Vine' and 'Cordon' types) these come out of the main stem, after about 3 pairs of leaves. You can tell that they're flowers shoots coz they have little bobbles on them which will turn into buds.
"Sideshoots" only need to be worried about on the tall tomato plants. They grow from the little 'elbow' where a big leaf joins the main stem. You just nip them off with your fingers.
If you have bush type tomatoes (aka 'Determinate' or 'Semi-determinate') you don't have to do any sort of pinching out at all, unless they're getting big enough to take over the world, and then you can just chop bits off

[FionaH]

Now I am worried! I have been taking out the sideshoots from what I presume is the elbow. Hoping I havent nipped off flower buds cos my Armish Paste dont have any flowers yet

[SarzWix]

They most likely are sideshoots Fi, AP are terrible for them - I've had to take them off mine already, and I have no flowers yet either

[sweetiepea]

If you leave a side shoot to get a few inches long, you can push it into damp compost and it will usually root and give you another plant.

Never knew that!

But ..... after reading all these posts I really feel stupid.

I've been growing toms for years, but always thought the term 'truss' referred to the main stem and main branches off it, from which the flowers developed. I pinch out new shoots that grow between the main stem and the 'arms' if the plant starts to become a triffid(!!), or when fruits are developing well. Thought I was 'doing it' correctly as I’m never disappointed with the crop, but perhaps I need some lessons??

[lynda66]

Now I am worried! I have been taking out the sideshoots from what I presume is the elbow. Hoping I havent nipped off flower buds cos my Armish Paste dont have any flowers yet

see i knew it wasn't just me got their S&M's in a knot

hmmmmmmm ok thanks all .... i think .... goes off to find out which are triffids and which are bushes ..... i haven't touched any of em yet cos theres lots of flowers

tis exciting innit ... i've already got more flowers than i had last year .... so is happy ...

[FionaH]

see i knew it wasn't just me got their S&M's in a knot

Excuse me???!!! I hadnt got any of my undergarments twisted till I read your post

Best of luck with the triffid identification

[lynda66]

yeah but you hadn't got any flowers either

*thinks it will be much simpler next year when i only have 3 types of tomatoes not 13

[taff]

But ..... after reading all these posts I really feel stupid.
I've been growing toms for years, but always thought the term 'truss' referred to the main stem and main branches off it, from which the flowers developed. I pinch out new shoots that grow between the main stem and the 'arms' if the plant starts to become a triffid(!!), or when fruits are developing well. Thought I was 'doing it' correctly as I’m never disappointed with the crop, but perhaps I need some lessons??

The only thing you were wrong about was the main stem is not the truss.
Everything else you were right about.
90% ain't bad is it? I'm more wrong about lots of stuff

[SarzWix]

Oh gawwwd, now I'm confused... sweetiepea, didn't you just say the same thing I did? Or did I get something wrong..? ...