Tips for tomato growers

[maddie]

Here are some useful tips I found for tomato growers. I have grown tomatoes for long but never knew some of these..

See that sucker there? Suckers are secondary branches that grow in the joints of existing branches. Pinch ‘em off. Suckers take energy away from growing tomatoes. No tomatoes will form on sucker branches.

You should also pinch off the lower branches of the tomato so that you have about six to ten inches of bare trunk at the bottom of the plant. More on why in the next step…

Read the rest here.. http://lifeonthebalcony.com/grow-delicious-tomatoes-in-four-simple-steps/

 

[claudine]

Thank you for sharing, Maddie! I'm a tomato grower so I can really use some tips. Growing tomatoes is fun and so rewarding since these are the most delicious vegetables (fruits? ). I didn't know that I should cut off the suckers.

 

[maddie]

Thank you for sharing, Maddie! I'm a tomato grower so I can really use some tips. Growing tomatoes is fun and so rewarding since these are the most delicious vegetables (fruits? ). I didn't know that I should cut off the suckers.

You are welcome Claudine. I did not know that either though I have been growing tomatoes for years. From now on.. I will pinch the suckers off and let the plant produce more fruit. I love tomatoes.. Can't cook many dishes without tomatoes in them.. Tomatoes form the base of my curries.

 

[claudine]

I eat a tomato sandwich every evening and it's the most delicious if it's a tomato that I grew . I plan to get rid of all the suckers in the future too. The more tomatoes, the better

 

[maddie]

I found some more useful links which I thought I will share here..
http://containergardening.about.com/od/vegetablesandherbs/a/Growing_Tomatoes_Mistakes.htm
http://gardening.about.com/od/growingtips/tp/Tomato_Tips.htm
Wow.. I am getting ready to grow more plants.. But I may have to shift out of this home I am living in into a bigger place.. but with even less gardening space.. Grrrrrr.. You can't have your cake and eat it too :/ I guess.

 

[claudine]

These tips are really helpful, some of them are completely new for me. I had no idea it's good to preheat the soil in your garden before planting tomatoes. Ah, now I miss warmer days even more. I hope winter will be short

 

[Victor Leigh]

Let me see if I have got this right. Pruning off those sucker branches would mean keeping a pretty straight plant without any branches other than the ones bearing fruit. Right?

 

[claudine]

Let me see if I have got this right. Pruning off those sucker branches would mean keeping a pretty straight plant without any branches other than the ones bearing fruit. Right?

Yes, this is how I understand it too (but I'm not an expert ). You just have to pinch off everything that grows between branches and stem.

 

[maddie]

Here is another neat tip I found..
Growing basil in the same pot as a tomato plant improves the taste and the flavor of the vegetable/fruit.
@ victor - You would have a plant with branches like any normal plant.. the suckers are the unproductive part of the plant growing between a branch and the main stem.

 

[dhrynio]

I love the visual! I remember when I first started I kept reading that you need to pinch of the suckers. But how is a newb supposed to know what a sucker is?

I made another mistake and did not prune flowers. So my tomato plants grow hundreds of tomatoes, but they almost all stayed small and green. Once I pruned those off the others went cray and got big and ripened!

Last year I did two things mentioned above, I planted in pots instead of in the ground and I planted basil in the same pots. They both worked so well. And having them in pots really helped since we had a crazy wind storm one night. My husband and I grabbed all of the pots and put them in a safe place till it passed! The basil repelled pests and I had a great crop and canned pesto!
The biggest negative of growing in pots is that the soil dries out a lot faster. But they did fine with a really heavy watering every evening!

 

[claudine]

Here is another neat tip I found..
Growing basil in the same pot as a tomato plant improves the taste and the flavor of the vegetable/fruit.

Wow, this is interesting, I'd never think about it. I wonder how a tomato that was grown near the basil would taste like. Do you know if other herbs can affect it's taste too?

 

[Victor Leigh]

Sounds like growing tomatoes is quite like growing roses then. We just have to make a hard decision to choose which buds we want and remove the rest. Then the remaining buds will produce good results.

 

[maddie]

Wow, this is interesting, I'd never think about it. I wonder how a tomato that was grown near the basil would taste like. Do you know if other herbs can affect it's taste too?

I have grown Dill with tomatoes and they taste awesome.. Here is a link I found.. and it sounds like almost all herbs make great companion plants. The surprise was marigolds.. this articles says marigolds not only enhance the flavor of tomatoes but also control pests.. isn't that lovely? Now read and enjoy the article.. http://herbgardens.about.com/od/herbalgardendesign/tp/CompanionTomatoHerbs.htm

 

[dhrynio]

My friend grows marigolds with her tomatoes and she swears by it! They are supposed to repel a lot of bugs. I planted them in pots and put them around the outside of my raised beds and it seems to work. I had zero pest issues this last year! I thinkI will try to plant them in the same pot with the tomatoes next season, but only a small plant.

The basil that I grew with my tomatoes got so big, like enormous. At the end of the season the basil was at least 3 feet tall. I wonder if I should have pruned it back some, but I allowed it to grow.

 

[claudine]

Thank you for the article, Maddie. I'll experiment.Tomatoes are so delicious, it would be so great if I could make them taste even better . Maybe I'll start with marigolds, since keep way the pests and look so pretty at the same time