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My greenhouse is looking a little over crowded at the moment with tomato plants. I sometimes here the odd noise coming from a far off corner, and expect to see a Triffid appear, so I was wondering if its all right to thin some of the leaves out so that I can actually see what's growing.

It's traditional to take off the bottom leaves when the fruits are setting - this will allow air movement. I don't like to take out too many as the leaves are actually there for a purpose!
You can also take out the tops when you have enough trusses set. Usually 3 or 4 outdoors, 4 - 6 in a greenhouse.
Maybe the noises off are a toad, eating up your pests, not just the groaning of your growing plants? My husband's great uncle always went on a toad hunt early in the year, and put his toad in a corner of the greenhouse to eat up slugs etc. He used to go in every day and move it to another corner. I always think, "I must go and move me toad" sounds like a euphemism!

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Thanks for the info Flummery. I have already removed the bottom leaves, so it seems that I have done something right. The Toms just seem so dense with foliage, and you have to fight your way through to view the fruit.

Someone down our allotment yesterday cut all the branches and leaves of his 60 tomatoe plants in the tunnel and left only a few leaves at the top he says his sister does this and that all the energy go into the tomatoes instead of the plant, all you have is tall green sticks with trussels hanging of it them with just the leavers at the very top of the plant.

Has anyone else heard of this.


Marion

I would maybe do that if it was late in the year and I wanted the fruit to ripen. I would think the plants need their leaves at this point in the year for health and growth (I could well be totally wrong though)

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Shirley

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It works to a point, but you should only defoliate after the fruits have set and are ripening, and then you should still be careful.

The plant needs its leaves to photosynthesise - which turns sunlight into carbohydrate - so they can grow.

That's the word I was after - thanks CC

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Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

I had a summer job tomato picking, one guy used to nearly defoliate his one acre of toms that he looked after. Despite protestations from the management he still had the highest poundage in fruit yields. The stems are green so they photosynthesise too.

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Mark

Vegetable Kingdom blog

Marion.

There is a theory that a tom plant only need its top 3 leaves to photosynthesise all it needs to grow the toms. Some agree, some don't.

I often cut the leaves off mine when they get too leafy; and they are always fine. The only major problem I ever have is blight; which I got last year and I didn't chop all the leaves off.

It does look weird but hey; it works for some. It was popular with the Victorians apparently - and my Grandad used to do it to some extend. He always grew good tomatoes.

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Andrea :wavehello

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moon trials completed:
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[46% increase in crop per seed sown and 10% increase in crop per plant]

currently underway:
calabrese
garlic
Ladies: please do not shave your heads - not on my watch. Normal service resumes 1st Nov.

can anyone find a link on the internet

marion

Type in "Tomato Pruning" and there are about 380,000 of them

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Have you maybe planted them too close together?

Mine end up like a jungle if I dont pinch out the side shoots quick enough.

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Perhaps if there are high light levels - as there are in good open fields and commercial glasshouses - they plants just don't need so many leaves.

In my shady garden I'd like more leaves not less!!

Don't be afraid of pruning. Plus if you are planning on going away for a week or two in the heat of summer removing the leaves is a great way of saving water. Once the leaves are go there is far less evaporation and you've find the soil stays damp for longer.

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this is not pruning this is leaving sticks will take a photo tonight


Marion

All right, lets look at this another way. Instead of removing the whole branch of leafs, would it be in order to shorten the branches so that we leave less on the plant.

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James the novice

FWIW I have the RHS "Growing Vegetables" book beside me. It says "When the plants are 4-5ft tall it usually helps to remove the lower leaves up to the first truss. This allows more light into the bottom of the plant and improves the air circulation and, hence, reduces the chance of fungal diseases. Always cut of the leaves cleanly with a sharp knife"

It also says to space at 18" in each direction. (Mine are 24" apart, so I have a bit more "air" to start with)

I wonder once the bottom truss has finished fruiting whether I should interpret "remove the lower leaves up to the first truss" to mean, at that time, removing leaves up to the second original truss?

It also says "Cold greenhouse tomato plants are unlikely to produce more than six or seven trusses in a normal season. It is best, therefore, to remove the growing point of each plant when it reaches the roof of the greenhouse, or two leave beyond the top (sixth) truss"

I still think that should be date based ... if they have got away more quickly in a good season, then they can probably carry another truss. Trouble is, I don't know what date that is!

Perhaps a poll of the number of trusses reached on 1st July would be handy?

Hi All,

My plants are no more than 1½ ft hight - and all the talk or truss / set etc - ive no idea what this is - help!

Should i be pruning just now? And is the flower the actual tomato? (due to my in experience i managed to kill one plant already by not opening the door - Ive left it (stem is all thats left) in the grow bag??)

many thanks,
Neil


My Tallest Plant:

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once the first truss has set...remove all lower leaves...as it grows we pinch out every other leaf to leave room and give light...once 4 to 6 trusses have formed pinch out the growing tips

again, back to my opening statment:

"and all the talk or truss / set etc - ive no idea what this is - help! "

lol - ive actually no idea what all the lingo means???

thanks agin,
Neil

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The truss is the shoot from the stem that has all the flowers on. when a flower sets it's fruit it means, in this case, you can see the actual tomato forming. The first link below is what we would call a truss of tomatoes.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thum...mato_truss.jpg

The sencond link is a tomato that is 'setting'

http://k43.pbase.com/u30/lindarocks/....tomssmall.JPG

Anyway, these are my interpretations. Hope this helped!!

Jennifer

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Whilst typing the above reply, I was probably supposed to be doing homework. My excuse: I'm hooked!

Here's a bit more info on growing toms - including talk of 'trusses'!

Naturenet: In Praise of the Nightshade Family

Here's a video to watch that might be useful?

How To Prune Tomatoes

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