Tomato Growing 2024

Aaarrrgg! Perhaps you could explain (kindly/wordsof one syllable) to him about photosynthesis and how a plant grows and does he thinks removing the leaves will make the poor plant grow big and strong. Label the others: DO NOT REMOVE LEAVES! We feel for you……

 

Agree 100%

 

Is he confused about removing the side shoots?

 

Well the plant may recover enough to produce, if the cutter keeps off it... Sad.

 

That's quite possible, or read about cutting leaves below the 1st truss off to ripen?

 

I've tried on numerous occasions to talk to him he just doesn't listen! He's a trustee as well as a volunteer so he has keys to the garden, I was elected garden manager a few months ago, I think mainly to curb his excesses but I don't think anything other than totally removing him from the garden will work.

 

Nope he's convinced this is the best way to grow them.

 

No, he's convinced this is the way to grow tomatoes.

 

Can you convince him to leave just one plant and do a comparison to prove that it works better if they still have some leaves.

 

Apart from some tumbling toms the whole stock of tomato's has been done.

 

Many years ago I can remember an old neighbour doing this every year with his tomato plants, the toms were about the size of cherries, but not cherry toms, he would say they just needed Phostrogen and then to ripen.
I never got through to him either, not sure where they get this idea from, it might be on youtube these days, but this bloke didn't even have that excuse.

 

I prune off the bottom sets of leaves when planting, but that's a ridiculous amount of pruning this early in the season. I wouldn't expect to see tomatoes looking like that until maybe autumn.

Are these his own plants, or is he going around doing it to other gardeners' tomatoes?

 

This is the local community garden, we should discuss things before we do anything but he's designated himself tomato expert I think.

 

You've read my mind!