Need advice.

attilla1000 · April 25, 2010

These are my maters I started on March 18th. This is my first time growing from seed and today I noticed a lot of them are flowering. I'm pretty sure I should pinch them off but thought I'd better check with everyone here. Take a look and tell me what you think.

**nctomatoman** · April 25, 2010

They look great. As to pinching flowers,like most things gardening, there are opinions but no hard and fast rules! I've never pinched a blossom off in my life...others will have different views!

attilla1000 · April 26, 2010

No pinching it is! Thanks so much for answering.

P.S. Love your videos!

dice · April 26, 2010

Perhaps pinch some, not others, of the same variety,
plant them side by side in the same soil with the same
sunlight, and see how they compare through the season.

I had a cutting in water once with flowers on it. It grew
minimal roots until the blossoms were removed, when the
roots took off. Other cuttings beside it on the same shelf
with no flowers started growing robust roots right away,
without the initial two to three week pause that the one
with the flowers experienced.

You may or may not see the same effect with plants in the
ground that already have a root system.

Barryblushes · April 26, 2010

Awesome looking plants there Attilla congrats to you on your first year growing from seed! Now you will be addicted

Barry (another Pennsylvanian)

b54red · April 28, 2010

I occasionally pinch off tomato blooms if the plant is still small when set out. I usually only have to do this on plants that I was unable to get into the ground quick enough; because once they are in the garden they grow so fast that they will usually be large enough to handle fruiting. This doesn't seem to be the case with bell peppers though.
When it comes to bell peppers I will usually pinch the early blooms to allow the plant to get larger so it can handle the weight of the peppers. Last year a friend and I started our pepper seedlings in my greenhouse and he planted the same day as I did. He didn't pinch any blooms on his peppers while I pinched the first and sometimes the second set. His plants produced the first peppers though they looked ridiculous on those small plants while I had to wait a few more weeks. None of his pepper plants got larger then waist high at the most and many remained small while I had some over 6 feet tall and all over waist high. My plants probably made 3 or 4 times the amount of fruit as his. Our gardens are virtually identical as to soil and amendments so I can only attribute the difference to the blossom pinching. I think it over stresses the plant to produce full size bell peppers when the plant is too small and they don't seem to recover from it.

April 25, 2010	#2
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	They look great. As to pinching flowers,like most things gardening, there are opinions but no hard and fast rules! I've never pinched a blossom off in my life...others will have different views! __________________ Craig

April 26, 2010	#3
attilla1000 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: PA. Posts: 32	Excellent! No pinching it is! Thanks so much for answering. P.S. Love your videos!

April 26, 2010	#4
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Perhaps pinch some, not others, of the same variety, plant them side by side in the same soil with the same sunlight, and see how they compare through the season. I had a cutting in water once with flowers on it. It grew minimal roots until the blossoms were removed, when the roots took off. Other cuttings beside it on the same shelf with no flowers started growing robust roots right away, without the initial two to three week pause that the one with the flowers experienced. You may or may not see the same effect with plants in the ground that already have a root system. __________________ -- alias

April 26, 2010	#5
Barryblushes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 150	Awesome looking plants there Attilla congrats to you on your first year growing from seed! Now you will be addicted Barry (another Pennsylvanian)

April 28, 2010	#6
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I occasionally pinch off tomato blooms if the plant is still small when set out. I usually only have to do this on plants that I was unable to get into the ground quick enough; because once they are in the garden they grow so fast that they will usually be large enough to handle fruiting. This doesn't seem to be the case with bell peppers though. When it comes to bell peppers I will usually pinch the early blooms to allow the plant to get larger so it can handle the weight of the peppers. Last year a friend and I started our pepper seedlings in my greenhouse and he planted the same day as I did. He didn't pinch any blooms on his peppers while I pinched the first and sometimes the second set. His plants produced the first peppers though they looked ridiculous on those small plants while I had to wait a few more weeks. None of his pepper plants got larger then waist high at the most and many remained small while I had some over 6 feet tall and all over waist high. My plants probably made 3 or 4 times the amount of fruit as his. Our gardens are virtually identical as to soil and amendments so I can only attribute the difference to the blossom pinching. I think it over stresses the plant to produce full size bell peppers when the plant is too small and they don't seem to recover from it.