Do you take off the tomato suckers/side shoots?

[rhyswales]

First year of growing anything this year and got myself a greenhouse but decided to not take off any off the sideshoots. The plants have just grown wild to the extent i can just about get into my greenhouse =/ Should I be taking off the side shoots next year?

[scarey55]

I would. That way, the plant puts all its energy into growing just a few trusses of fruits rather that a lot of lesser ones. Having said that, I have trouble keeping up with it all and usually end up with a jungle like you have

[Potstubsdustbins]

Carefully take them off and put them into a bottle of water just over a week later Hey Presto a new tom plant.

[veggiechicken]

Depends on which tomato variety you're growing. If they're bush (determinate) tomatoes you leave them alone, if they're vine aka cordon (indeterminate) you sideshoot them.
As Potty said, you can root up the side shoots and grow free tomato plants. I've several that I did earlier this year that are already fruiting

[ButternutSquash]

I found that for Sungold outside, a single stem did not produce enough cordons. They say 8 which is daft. I'd allow a few sideshoots to develop. Last year they were allowed to go wild outdoors, and produced ~20 ripe trusses each, and ~20 ruined by blight. This year they are limited to about 20 trusses.

Not only can you root pricked out side shoots, you can bend the plant over side ways, and then train some side shoots upwards. Where the plant touches the ground, it roots. So you end up with multiple plant root systems i.e. connected clones. I've not tried this method. It has the advantage that you don't need to raise huge numbers of plants indoors on a window board, just raise a few and have multiple stems.

[Noosner]

I grow a mixture of determinate and indeterminate tommies in a plastic greenhouse. I pinch out the sideshoots on the right ones for a month or two but once they get going I always lose the plot and can't see which is which any more - and end up with a green jungle, as you have. When the side shoots have got very big, it always seems a brutal to lop them. Is that true or should you still take them off?

[Bigmallly]

If there are no flowers on them, I take them off. Now's the time for the plant to put it's energy into the fruit.

[Penellype]

Apart from the tomatoes on my sitting room windowsill, which I have to be brutal with or they get too heavy and fall off, I find I can't keep up with taking sideshoots off. I have a totally wild jungle of mixed up tomatoes (which are also mixed in with my runner beans and cucumbers) and they are laden with fruit. Once the weather starts to get cooler I will remove as many of the ends and small side shoots as I can so that he remaining energy of the plants goes into fruit, but for now they can go as wild as they like as long as there is fruit forming.

[NatalieCooke]

I have one tomato plant I forgot to take one side shoot off. It's growing well loads of fruits growing but the weight is too much for the plant support on it own. We've really had to support it really well. It fell on top of me the other day!

If only I'd know about the potting up the side shoots, could have potted it up before it got too big!

[rhyswales]

Next year I think I'm going to listen to the advice here and take off the side shoots and re pot them for a new plant. I can't leave them on like a did this year because I can hardly get in to water them =/ Thanks everyone