Common questions from the still newbie

[Salaam]

Hello all,

Hope all your gardens are doing well! I've got a couple of questions that I still have after a few years of growing:

1. Pruning - What do you do with the leaves after you remove the suckers? Remove them too? So far in my 'career' I've pruned only a little - just to reduce an unwieldy plant or to remove disease.

2. Fertilizing and mulch - When I've got pine mulch down, as I'll be having this year, it's a bit of a pain removing the mulch and then putting down some granular fertilizer. Should I be using just sprayable fertilizer? If I had plastic mulch, wouldn't this be the only option?

[BigVanVader]

Only remove the suckers to start. Then after the first cluster of flowers sets tomatoes you can remove the leaves below that cluster. I typically wait for them to start yellowing because at that point they are useless. Continue this as your fruit ripens. If sun scald is a concern you can let a few suckers grow to shade the fruits then top those making sure not to let flowers form. As for ferts I'd use a liquid like TTF or something similar.

[StrongPlant]

Originally Posted by Salaam

Hello all,

Hope all your gardens are doing well! I've got a couple of questions that I still have after a few years of growing:

1. Pruning - What do you do with the leaves after you remove the suckers? Remove them too? So far in my 'career' I've pruned only a little - just to reduce an unwieldy plant or to remove disease.

2. Fertilizing and mulch - When I've got pine mulch down, as I'll be having this year, it's a bit of a pain removing the mulch and then putting down some granular fertilizer. Should I be using just sprayable fertilizer? If I had plastic mulch, wouldn't this be the only option?

Don't prune leaves if they're healthy.In greenhouse intensive production they ussualy remove all the leaves below a flower cluster when that cluster starts or is done ripening all the tomatoes on it.

Idk what's the climate like where you're at,but if it gets hot,don't use black plastic mulch.IMO the best one is mirror/silver plastic mulches because they reflect more light onto plants,increasing efficiency,and they don't overheat the soil.

[ginger2778]

I know this may be sacrilege but in my humid warm environment, I prune extra leaves off the dwarfs. They are dependable to get fungal diseases if I don't.

[brownrexx]

I prune off all leaves about 18" up from the soil to prevent disease spores in the soil from splashing up onto the plant and infecting it. Other than that I really do not prune anything unless it looks diseased.

[BigVanVader]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

I know this may be sacrilege but in my humid warm environment, I prune extra leaves off the dwarfs. They are dependable to get fungal diseases if I don't.

Same here. I prune mine like apple trees. 3 or 4 leaders in a crown arrangement.

[oakley]

Depends on how old you are and willing to bend over,
I'm lazy and do what works from my hammock. I get just as much production now as
when i spent much more time tending...

I'm also cheap as well as lazy...
I add granular to the prep double digging a week or so before planting out. Cover and
plant when the weather allows. (covering in the Fall putting all beds to rest makes it an
easy chore in the Spring), no weeds.

I'll mulch in a couple weeks having just planted this past weekend. Then it is all knee
high at that point and easy snip and pinch pruning as i see it. A bit of stingy liquid fert
at the bloom moment. My soil has what it needs or seems to, getting good harvest all
these years by not tilling. Loose soil with raised beds not stepped on or compacted....

Lower leaves and suckers we remove. Leaving a low sucker will produce another strong
stem i don't want early on. With a short growing season i decide as the plants grow if
i want to keep up with pruning or let some go a bit unruly. I've tried both but like to
keep my plants pruned if easy from a standing position,
Every season is different, and from what we notice all over the globe, it is different
everywhere....drought, then massive rains and storms. Keeps it interesting any who.

[McGee'sX-Roads]

I think the pruning question depends on your environment and the growing conditions. If you are in a hoop house or greenhouse you want to prune up to expose the most mature set of fruit, perhaps even expose 2 or I've even exposed 3 in certain situations. Usually the reasons or conditions for pruning like this would be one of these factors:

- To try and encourage more light penetrating the dense foliage. Typically if you are in a hoop house or greenhouse you might be growing in winter months where the day lengths are short and cloudy days are common. Or if you are growing plants close together.

-To encourage better air flow. Again, if you are in a greenhouse/hoop house and the humidity is an issue, or if you are in the south east with crazy humid weather it's a good idea to thin some foliage if you are planting close together. Grey mold/botrytis will do a number on you quick if you have stagnant wet air.

-To prevent leaves from laying on the ground. If you are outside diseases are mostly coming from the soil and the more of the plant in contact with the ground or close enough to get soil splashed on it during watering or a rain means the higher the chances of an issue occurring.

Hope this helps some!

[Salaam]

A belated thanks for all your answers!