Tomato Growing Questions

Hello, How many trusses should you let a tomato plant have and when should you top the plant (When it hits the roof or when you have enough trusses)? I have MoneyMaker, Shirley, Alicante and Golden Sunrise.

Most of my plants have 3 to 4 trusses and 2 have 5 trusses. They still have a good bit to go before they start hitting the roof.

Am I correct in removing some of the leaves (keep the leave above the truss) for air flow and to make the plant put all it's energy into the fruit.

Thankyou :thumb:

djrock

 

Not sure if I want them to go to 7 trusses does the quality of the tomatoes not go down a bit? I do have 3 of each kind except for the sunrise I only have 2.

Is there not a balance? Remove some leaves but not too many? I removed some off the bottom as to avoid soil infections. Is another factor how close each plant is?

Thankyou

djrock

 

I was always told that the maximum number of trusses for greenhouse tomatoes was '5 and no more' thus, for years I would religiously ensure they never got any further. Then one day I wondered 'why?' what could be so awful if I left them alone? As a consequence, I let a couple of plants go on. True they may not have had quite the same flavour and yes, the later ones were smaller and took longer to ripen, but they weren't for show and were still tomatoes I didn't have to buy and at least they had some flavour unlike bought ones.

Some people will, I know, shudder, but I still put 3 plants in a (Tomorite) grobag - I use these because they tend to be much deeper than 'ordinary' grobags - and when, as now, the bottom leaves get in the way of watering or start touching the soil, I trim them back to about half their length.

I used to worry a lot about growing tomatoes, how close, how deep, how much water, how much feed, how often, how many trusses, how high, how damp the greenhouse, how dry the greenhouse etc., etc. Then I began to ask myself why - why am I growing them? Purely and simply ... to eat. I don't care if I get a bumper crop of huge fruits, a reasonable crop of mis-shapen ones, or just a few. They'll taste better than anything you'll get in a supermarket, and the plants (if you buy plants) are so ridiculously cheap that they're hardly worth losing sleep over. And y'know what? When I stopped worrying, fussing and trying to be so 'scientific' over a few plants and just followed my instinct, I suddenly began to get much better/nicer toms., and more of them. Sometimes I'm sure these wretched plants know and act-up accordingly!

 

I always remove the lower leaves - it makes the plants so much easier to water and it doesn't seem to affect them in any way.

 

Leaf removal has always been a burning question on this forum.
The only way I look at it is, what other plant do you chop the leaves off of while its still in full growth?
I cant think of any, but I'm sure once they are growing well removing a few of the older lower leaves will not cause a problem.

In commercial greenhouses the plants get very tall and have many trusses.
I think its more about what size plant you can accommodate and whether the fruit will ripen before the winter comes.

 

It's up yo yourself DJRock. There is no definitive answer. It's down to your own experience and what works for you.
I see you are in Scotland, but don't know where, or how your greenhouse is sited - or what the conditions are.
It's down to how long do you think summer will go on and how many trusses can you ripen.
If you think summer will last until October you might ripen 8 trusses.
If you think by September the best of the weather will be gone and you could get a frosty night then I would limit the trusses and get a crop before then.
As for taking leaves off - I find towards the end of the season the lower leaves look quite bedraggled and are of no benefit to the plant. They are only a potential source of infection. I have them off then.
It's all down to your conditions and what works for you.
Good luck.

 

Hi all, Tomato plants might be different and like when some leaves are removed?

My greenhouse gets sun until I think about 6pm. I think the temperature must reach in the 40oc if the door is not open. I keep forgetting to check the mercury thermometer. My digital maxâ??s out at 40oc.

A good few are beginning to just about touch the slope of the roof. So when they do I will top them.

Is it a good idea to have a bowl of water to make the air moist or the dryer the better?

Thankyou

djrock

I just remembered I was in my local B&Q yestarday and they had tomorite on offer 2 1L bottles for £5.55s00k. Might not be on offer everywhere but have a look if your after some.

 

I use Wilkinson's own brand tomato feed - £2.18 for 1 ltr - every bit as good as any others I've tried.

 

Ok JWK, The window does get opened fully (stays open a bit at night) and there is a small vent that stays open. My gran does open the door when in the garden.

I would have to make a frame up with mesh that is easy to fit. It has to be semi secure to keep certain kids that might be tempted to go in.

Ok, Keep the air dry. Every day I give them a bit of water and feed every 3 days. Don't want to repeat what happened a couple of months ago. Lack of water made them wilt. :dh:

Fidgetsmum I am using ASDA's own at £2 a litre and its good value for money considering some other feeds you think you are getting a bargain but it turns out to be dearer since you are using more.