I'm sure there are many such threads, but couldn't find one that quite addresses this question ............ (from my bil)
Quote:
The tomatoes are doing great. Well...maybe better than great. The tallest is over 4' tall. And the two Kimberley's both have green fruits. Here's today's question: I know that you said that you were not a 'pincher'. But on the indeterminates, I have been pinching off the new shoots that formed in the 'elbow' of each branch. I originally attempted to keep to 3 main stems per plant...but having missed the odd one, each plant probably now has ~4-5 main stems. But now that they are forming blossoms, each time a 'blossoom branch' forms, the main stem splits into two..or three. Since these were not in the classic leaf branch 'elbow', I have not been pinching them. But things are getting totally out of control. I have been raiding Ruth's nylons to cut into strips to tie the stems to my trellis...but she's running out!! Plus I would rather have fewer fruits that reach maturity...rather than a ton of green tomatoes. So should I be pinching some of these off?? I have attached a couple of photo's to show you what these 'stem splits' look like...
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And have a look at this extreme pruning method - took pic today at a wonderful allotment garden
TIA