LA Times blogger says Prune tomato plants

[Close enuf]

I'd really like to see that tomato plant that produced 500lb.

This spring I did a little pruning experiment with about 15 sungold tomato plants.
On five plants I pruned off the first five suckers that emerged on each of their main stalks. The other ten I just let grow normaly. The plants that haven't been pruned are pruducing much more and look much healthier than the ones that have been pruned.

I tried the same thing with some larger tomato varieties. they all look the same now. Howaboutthat.

[barkeater]

If you read the article closely the statement about 500# from one plant came directly after the sentence about how easy it is to root the suckers that are removed. The 500# did come from one plant... and the dozen suckers that were rooted from it.

[dustdevil]

Bark, 12 rooted suckers are 12 plants and adding the original would make 13.

After further research, what really happened was that the plant was heavily pruned to grow one giant 500 pound fruit:

http://www.agilitynut.com/07/6/tomato.jpg

[TZ-OH6]

Rather than assume the unbelievable I'll just go with the option that it is a typo and should say 50 lbs.

I did my own little count of fruits the other day and found a good reason to prune. Comparing caged plants to staked pruned plants, counting number of fruits per plant when the first ones ripened,... caged plants of 6-7 lower suckers plus the main vines had twice the fruit of the pruned plants, but half of that was on the main stems, so on a per vine basis, four pruned plants (8 vines) would have 2x the fruit of one caged plant of 8 vines. The suckers could catch up over a long season, but after the heat of summer hits fruit set per truss decreases and disease increases.

I have to prune the dead and shaded central material out of my cages, and poke vines back in the cages every few days so maintenance of my staked plants is in some ways easier. Picking is also easier on the stakes.

Next year I plan to grow four pruned plants tied to the outside of each cage instead of one inside. I shouldn't have to worry about wind blowing the cages over either.

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by barkeater

If you read the article closely the statement about 500# from one plant came directly after the sentence about how easy it is to root the suckers that are removed. The 500# did come from one plant... and the dozen suckers that were rooted from it.

ok, so (referring to that other thread on the $4/seed tomatoes) next year's ads in the sunday circulars can say, "A penny per tomato! " and they can charge US$5 per seed, with a 3-seed minimum and $10 shipping/handling fee.

But I haven't grown a tomato yet that I could stand eating 500 pounds of. Much of the fun of tomato growing is the huge variety.

[French-Connection]

As an ex-commercial grower of tomatoes, I would say it was a typo, more like 50 lbs per plant.
By the time the fruit came off the suckers if they were replanted, there would be not enough time to get 500lbs.


Indeterminate type plants are developed to produce their crop over a long period, and side shoots have to be removed to get the best crop, but are mainly grown indoors. My outdoor ones are still side shooted, but I stop the heads at about 7ft so the fruit on the plant will ripen before the end of summer/early autumn.

Determinate or bush types, are developed so that you leave most of the shoots on and are better outdoors where you have a shorter season, they crop mainly over a month, unlike Indeterminates which will keep cropping for months.

it is not a crime to remove side shoots, just do it on the right plant.

[French-Connection]

Just to show you about Indeterminate tomato plants, this is mine half way through the season, they will grow twice as long as this. As you can see quite a good yeild so far.