New to growing tomatoes ( confused )

[maverick451]

This is another example, all the leaf branches on the plant to the left are at a 45 and away from the growing tip.



Im just passing on a small bit of help in a situation where I have gone wrong, thats all, not trying to be a know it all, apologies if ive come across that way

[solanaceae]

Lots of good advice on here as always.

Zander, it's possible to have fruit bearing trusses grow from the main stem and the side stems. Most UK growers tend to pinch out the side shoots and just let the fruit bearing trusses develop on the main stem, usually about 5-7 trusses in total. Many won't attempt to grow much more than that on a single plant, this is mainly down to the UK summer not being long, warm and sunny enough to support that growth.

Not sure where you're located at let us know, anyway I'm fortunate enough to live in a warm part of the country so I grow a few more side stems and trusses than the average, even more so when it comes to growing cherry cordons - 50 trusses of healthy ripe fruit per plant has been managed before (when the weather wants to play ball). So your location could play a part in deciding if you want to grow that many.

However for now I would recommend sticking with main stem growth as you're just getting started. Pinch out the side shoots and enjoy seeing the plant flourish, just make sure it is the side shoots and not a truss! Oh ye and 'bout 20-30 cherry toms per truss. You do the math

[Zander]

Hi guys,

just want to thank you all for your answer,all very helpful.
I am unable to update my location in my profile,not enough post,anyway my location
Is Glasgow.


Regards

Zander

[KevinM67]

Hi guys,

just want to thank you all for your answer,all very helpful.
I am unable to update my location in my profile,not enough post,anyway my location
Is Glasgow.


Regards

Zander

My condolences

(Only joking - I really miss the place sometimes )

[Gillykat]

I grew my very first tomatoes last year (6 x Gardener's Delight) in a polytunnel and got o much helpful advice on here Ended up with a lovely crop with an out-of-this-world taste

I too was worried about side shoots and was told about them coming from the 'armpits' and when they first started to grow they WERE pretty distinctive You'll probably know them when you see them

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

But all the very best of luck to you with it, the first time is always daunting! But you'll soon get the hang of it!

I grew my very first tomatoes last year (6 x Gardener's Delight) in a polytunnel and got o much helpful advice on here Ended up with a lovely crop with an out-of-this-world taste

I too was worried about side shoots and was told about them coming from the 'armpits' and when they first started to grow they WERE pretty distinctive

That was my point entirely!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Of course if you are short of plants you can always let one grow on to about 3" long then put it through the milk bottle.

[Penellype]

Lots of good advice on this thread.

Tomatoes can be confusing as there are a huge number of varieties and 2 basic types - determinate (bush) and indeterminate (usually grown as cordons). They grow very differently. The bush varieties stay reasonably small and have lots of side shoots, most of which bear fruit, like the ones in this picture:



There are 4 bush tomatoes here, the front 2 are a trailing variety, Garden Pearl and the back 2 are Totem. You can see that if you were to pinch out the sideshoots you wouldn't have much plant left from these.

These are cordon tomatoes (Shirley):



You can see that the plants are much taller and I have taken out all of the sideshoots. They have been tied to strong stakes, otherwise they would fall over and the fruit would be lying on the ground.

This is what happens if you don't remove the sideshoots from indeterminate tomatoes (these are Sungold):



You can see that I have had to use multiple canes and stakes to try to contain the mass of branches. These did give a huge crop of tomatoes but they were very unruly and quite tricky to harvest.

[Zander]

Lots of good advice on this thread.

Tomatoes can be confusing as there are a huge number of varieties and 2 basic types - determinate (bush) and indeterminate (usually grown as cordons). They grow very differently. The bush varieties stay reasonably small and have lots of side shoots, most of which bear fruit, like the ones in this picture:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]61990[/ATTACH]

There are 4 bush tomatoes here, the front 2 are a trailing variety, Garden Pearl and the back 2 are Totem. You can see that if you were to pinch out the sideshoots you wouldn't have much plant left from these.

These are cordon tomatoes (Shirley):




[ATTACH=CONFIG]61993[/ATTACH]

You can see that the plants are much taller and I have taken out all of the sideshoots. They have been tied to strong stakes, otherwise they would fall over and the fruit would be lying on the ground.

This is what happens if you don't remove the sideshoots from indeterminate tomatoes (these are Sungold):

[ATTACH=CONFIG]61995[/ATTACH]

You can see that I have had to use multiple canes and stakes to try to contain the mass of branches. These did give a huge crop of tomatoes but they were very unruly and quite tricky to harvest.

Great post pen,very informative

Thanks

[vixylix]

really useful Penellype, thanks. that last picure is exactly what mine ended up looking like last year
I'm aiming for your second picture this year!