Clipping indeterminate tops for faster crop

DrTrish · July 11, 2015

After doing everything possible to control early blight it has gotten the best of me and most my plants have some degree of spots of them. Considering this is the second wettest summer on record I'm trying not to take it personal. Now I am in control mode and spraying every 5-7 days with Daconil. My goal is to get as many ripe tomatoes for canning as quickly as I can before the plants are consumed with disease. If I keep cutting the new growth of my indeterminate plants (which are Beefsteak and Amish Paste) will they put more energy into ripening the tomatoes that are already on them or would that just be wasted energy?

bower · July 11, 2015

Dr. Trish,

In my experience, they will grow the tomatoes that are already set if you cut the main stem or leaders leaving one leaf above the last fruit cluster. The leaf above the fruit is said to directly nourish the fruit underneath it and this has worked for me.

How well your plants will grow and ripen the fruit will also depend on their condition, how much leaf they have left to nourish the fruit..

In extreme circumstance where a plant's stems were badly diseased, I have just taken all the green fruit off to ripen off the vine, small or large, and cull the plant away from the tomato area. For sure some fruit were not full sized but they were past the 'mature green' stage and ripened and were good enough for sauce. There weren't many immature green fruit so I just discarded them, as they can't be ripened properly.

If you have a lot of immature fruit on the plants, it may be worthwhile to pick off the ones that are full grown, which will ripen fine in a paper bag, and try to get the plant to grow the little ones.

b54red · July 15, 2015

Isn't it a bit early to have your plants stop growing? I know you have a shorter season up there but this seems too early to me. I wouldn't give up on the plants this soon unless they are completely ruined by foliage diseases. I would try to salvage them as much as possible and fertilize them weekly to encourage new healthy growth and fruit set. Limit the number of stems and suckers to provide better air flow and discourage disease and this will also encourage fruit set.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...t=bleach+spray

Read up on using the bleach spray and apply it. Wait two days and then apply it again. Continue with your Daconil sprays afterwards and remove most of the diseased leaves. The bleach spray will help stop the EB and the Daconil will help with prevention but don't be afraid to apply the bleach spray between rains during a rainy spell to prevent or slow disease progression. If the forecast is for frequent showers you will be better served by a copper spray as a preventative during that kind of weather as Daconil is so easily washed off by rain but any fungicide will be washed off and useless in heavy rains. Use the bleach spray more often if it continues to rain because it will reduce the amount of disease you have to deal with once the rainy period is over.

Next year don't be afraid to use the bleach spray as soon as you see a foliage disease starting. Fungicides will not usually stop a disease once it starts but they do help a lot with preventing foliage diseases. I use both Daconil and copper sprays but by far the thing I spray most often is the bleach spray. During stretches where it rains nearly every day I apply it every two to three days and it helps tremendously so that when the rainy period does end my plants are not totally riddled with foliage disease. The first thing I do when I see any foliage disease starting on a plant is apply the bleach spray to stop it or slow it down before reapplying fungicide.

Bill

zipcode · July 15, 2015

If blight is a problem, cutting them probably won't help. There's no chance for the plant to grow new foliage to replace the one lost. I would cut the new flowers forming, making sure all the energy from those leaves go to the older fruit.

DrTrish · July 15, 2015

Thanks Bill and zipcode. I did start out spraying with a copper soap (Soap Shield) before any signs of the disease. However the rains were heavy and nonstop for almost 3 weeks. I've never heard of spraying with bleach. I will look into that. Thank you!

b54red · July 15, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrTrish

Thanks Bill and zipcode. I did start out spraying with a copper soap (Soap Shield) before any signs of the disease. However the rains were heavy and nonstop for almost 3 weeks. I've never heard of spraying with bleach. I will look into that. Thank you!

Make sure you read the thread in the link in my above post carefully before using the bleach spray. It is very important that you get the correct strength solution or it can damage the plants if it is too strong and not help with the diseases if it is too weak.

Bill

July 11, 2015	#1
DrTrish Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: northcentral IN Posts: 29	Clipping indeterminate tops for faster crop After doing everything possible to control early blight it has gotten the best of me and most my plants have some degree of spots of them. Considering this is the second wettest summer on record I'm trying not to take it personal. Now I am in control mode and spraying every 5-7 days with Daconil. My goal is to get as many ripe tomatoes for canning as quickly as I can before the plants are consumed with disease. If I keep cutting the new growth of my indeterminate plants (which are Beefsteak and Amish Paste) will they put more energy into ripening the tomatoes that are already on them or would that just be wasted energy?

July 11, 2015	#2
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Dr. Trish, In my experience, they will grow the tomatoes that are already set if you cut the main stem or leaders leaving one leaf above the last fruit cluster. The leaf above the fruit is said to directly nourish the fruit underneath it and this has worked for me. How well your plants will grow and ripen the fruit will also depend on their condition, how much leaf they have left to nourish the fruit.. In extreme circumstance where a plant's stems were badly diseased, I have just taken all the green fruit off to ripen off the vine, small or large, and cull the plant away from the tomato area. For sure some fruit were not full sized but they were past the 'mature green' stage and ripened and were good enough for sauce. There weren't many immature green fruit so I just discarded them, as they can't be ripened properly. If you have a lot of immature fruit on the plants, it may be worthwhile to pick off the ones that are full grown, which will ripen fine in a paper bag, and try to get the plant to grow the little ones.

July 15, 2015	#3
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Isn't it a bit early to have your plants stop growing? I know you have a shorter season up there but this seems too early to me. I wouldn't give up on the plants this soon unless they are completely ruined by foliage diseases. I would try to salvage them as much as possible and fertilize them weekly to encourage new healthy growth and fruit set. Limit the number of stems and suckers to provide better air flow and discourage disease and this will also encourage fruit set. http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...t=bleach+spray Read up on using the bleach spray and apply it. Wait two days and then apply it again. Continue with your Daconil sprays afterwards and remove most of the diseased leaves. The bleach spray will help stop the EB and the Daconil will help with prevention but don't be afraid to apply the bleach spray between rains during a rainy spell to prevent or slow disease progression. If the forecast is for frequent showers you will be better served by a copper spray as a preventative during that kind of weather as Daconil is so easily washed off by rain but any fungicide will be washed off and useless in heavy rains. Use the bleach spray more often if it continues to rain because it will reduce the amount of disease you have to deal with once the rainy period is over. Next year don't be afraid to use the bleach spray as soon as you see a foliage disease starting. Fungicides will not usually stop a disease once it starts but they do help a lot with preventing foliage diseases. I use both Daconil and copper sprays but by far the thing I spray most often is the bleach spray. During stretches where it rains nearly every day I apply it every two to three days and it helps tremendously so that when the rainy period does end my plants are not totally riddled with foliage disease. The first thing I do when I see any foliage disease starting on a plant is apply the bleach spray to stop it or slow it down before reapplying fungicide. Bill

July 15, 2015	#4
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	If blight is a problem, cutting them probably won't help. There's no chance for the plant to grow new foliage to replace the one lost. I would cut the new flowers forming, making sure all the energy from those leaves go to the older fruit.