"Suckering Tomatoes"

[Nematode]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

My bottom-most fruit have sun-scald from my attempts at single-stem pruning. The problem is improving as I pick fruit higher up on the plant.

What is your spacing?
1' spacing in double rows 5' apart scald is not a problem.

[Cole_Robbie]

I'm at about 2' in a single row. Isn't sun scald latitude-dependent? So there would be no one right answer to avoiding it.

[Nematode]

You might be a little south of here, but not much. 43degrees lat.

[Cole_Robbie]

Is there a spray for sun-scald, one that makes a chalk-like coating so it will not get burned?

[BigVanVader]

Surround WP, it saved a bunch of tomatoes for me last year. Same problem as you. Tube socks cut into bands will also do the trick.

[jtjmartin]

Tube socks for my tomatoes - another reason for the neighbors to think I'm crazy!

Excellent, practical solution. Thank you.

[zipcode]

All commercial growers use single stem, and they grow way south as well. The solution to sunscald is the shading cloth.

[BigVanVader]

Yeah I'm using 50% and Surround WP now but outside plants can be hard to keep covered with all the rain we get.

[Cole_Robbie]

Thanks, Van.

I'm getting sunscald in May, which is too early to be using shade cloth on the high tunnel.

[McGee'sX-Roads]

Cole:

How much do you prune the leaves on your plant in addition to suckering? I sucker in greenhouses in NC and don't put a shade cloth on until mid May or so and don't have issues with sunscald. My plants are also much closer together than yours are so they help keep direct sun off the fruits.

[McGee'sX-Roads]

Originally Posted by Nematode

That site includes many examples of pruning including "normal" single stem with topping after 6 trusses.
I too am perplexed by keeping the suckers and pruning the main. The main always flowers sooner than the sucker.

I have never tried French pruning, totally ignorant to it actually until I saw this post. I am wondering if perhaps the reason behind topping the main growth point and encouraging the sucker is to delay additional flowers and fruit set in order to pump all the nutrition the plant is taking up to the existing fruits, therefore making them larger.

It would seem that the fruits would indeed get larger but you would have a slight gap in production down the line, not an insane amount but it would delay the normal schedule by a few days.

[BigVanVader]

It seems everyway I've pruned or not pruned the results are pretty close. I may get more smaller fruits, less bigger ones, more flowers with less setting etc but in the end single stem is just more simple, works well and is easier to maintain.

[Spartanburg123]

Originally Posted by McGee'sX-Roads

I have never tried French pruning, totally ignorant to it actually until I saw this post. I am wondering if perhaps the reason behind topping the main growth point and encouraging the sucker is to delay additional flowers and fruit set in order to pump all the nutrition the plant is taking up to the existing fruits, therefore making them larger.

It would seem that the fruits would indeed get larger but you would have a slight gap in production down the line, not an insane amount but it would delay the normal schedule by a few days.

McGee- I just clipped off all of the growth stems at 12 feet on one of my plants- it now has 25 fruit set, and my thought was exactly that- let the plant use it's energy to grow those fruit as large as they can be. Meanwhile, lower suckers will grow, flower, and set new fruit when the others are removed. At least, that's how I hope it goes

[jtjmartin]

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Surround WP, it saved a bunch of tomatoes for me last year. Same problem as you. Tube socks cut into bands will also do the trick.

BVV:

The cut tube socks are working great. Just came in to cut some more.

And, my wife is happy I'll be moving on to some newer socks!

[BigVanVader]

Glad I could help!