Pinching out growing tips

**womble** · 11-06-2010, 08:00 AM

I've been planning on trying this for a few years, but I never want to limit a plant in the end.
I did limit one to 2 or 3 trusses outside last year and it did fruit first, so in theory it should/might work.
What I have done, is plant three sideshooted plants and plan to restrict them to one truss each as they are outside and very vulnerable to blight.
If it works, I'll do the same next year, sideshooted plants mean no messing about with extra plants and means they will crop as early as the bigger ones hopefully.

**Flobalob** · 11-06-2010, 08:23 AM

Originally posted by hsthst View Post

Whatever I do I never have toms as early as most folks on these boards. Last year during the kids summer hols I was still waiting for the first toms to ripen and then by the beginning of September ( summer fading, if not gone) I had a glut sitting in bowls and baskets. So I spent the summer watching my toms grow..............not eating them.

My plan this year is to pinch out the growing tips of some plants after 2 trusses, ( some have 2 and 3 trusses now) some after 3, 4.............and let some go on to 5. I know of course that the overall harvest will be cut dramatically but will this give me earlier and more constant supply of fresh tomatos through the summer?

Early planting of tomato's for me is in Feb. I let all plants grow to 5-6 trusses. The fact that I let them grow this much gives me the pleasure of picking them as early as July and as late as October.
These are all grown indoors though.

**lainey lou** · 11-06-2010, 08:27 AM

Try planting varieties that crop at different times (next year obviously). The toms I plant outside in baskets crop first then the greenhouse toms are next then if the blight hasn't got them I usually get a crop from those I have planted outside in pots.
There is always a glut but IMO you can never have too many home grown tomatos. Those you buy in the shops the rest of the year round just taste like pap.

**realfood** · 11-06-2010, 06:34 PM

The earliest ripening tomatoes for me are always sungold. I now do not bother growing late maturing varieties.

**bramble** · 11-06-2010, 09:41 PM

Hsthst, Try growing tomatoes that ripen early. In other words, look up the tomato varieties and you will find the lists of the early, mid season and late ripening varieties. As we have a short growing season, these are the varieties that you are looking to grow.
I grow Sungold, Gardeners Delight, Ferline, Shirley, Red Alert, Inca, Alicante and lots of other varieties that ripen early.
If you start your seedlings off early (beginning of Feb,) you can let them grow to 7 trusses if they are under cover.
Go to your local library and read up on growing tomatoes in the british isles. There is a mine of information out there.

**hamsterqueen** · 11-06-2010, 09:44 PM

I just buy plants , plant them straight into my garden , forget after a while to pinch out the armpits, end up trying to tie all the chaotic growth and forget to feed them. Every year I have more tomatoes than I can cope with, pick at least a pound a day when in full flow..

**Snadger** · 11-06-2010, 10:23 PM

I usually sow more tomatoes than what I need. Once I've given away or swapped what I can, the ones that are left are potted up into 5 inch pots and stopped one leaf after the first truss.
Problem is................I aint got any left this year!

**womble** · 12-06-2010, 01:10 PM

Originally posted by Snadger View Post

I usually sow more tomatoes than what I need. Once I've given away or swapped what I can, the ones that are left are potted up into 5 inch pots and stopped one leaf after the first truss.
Problem is................I aint got any left this year!

Yeah but how much earlier do they crop than the normal ones left to grow higher?

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