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| I'm new to the forum and have about a year of gardening experience. So last year's garden was a complete disaster. The tomatoes died and nearly all the crops did poor. So I joined the forum to help make this year a successful harvest. My family has three pots with built in cages of Bush's Better Tomatoes. I've heard about pruning where you take off leaves between the stem and tomato branches so to encourage more energy toward fruit growth instead of plant growth. So I took off a couple of these leaves already on one, but is it a good idea? Is it necessary? I also have three tomato plants in a box garden that look the same as Bush's but I'm not sure. Should I prune them as well? Should cherry tomatoes be pruned too? Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| You'll probably get lots of opinions. I don't prune, and don't recommend it unless you need to, and if know what you are doing. You live in a warm climate, and your plants should grow fine without pruning. Just my .02 |
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| I agree with Ed above. Pruning is optional but not required for any reason. And I believe what you are growing is named Better Bush tomato rather than Bush's Better tomato (nothing by that name I can find). Would need the name of the other varieties to know which type they are. In which case Better Bush is a determinate variety. Determinate varieties are normally not pruned at all as they produce their fruit very differently than indeterminate varieties which may or may not be pruned. The FAQ below explains the difference and also includes many discussions about pruning. Dave |
Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ and lots of discussions on pruning
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- Posted by missingtheobvious Blue Ridge 7a (My Page) on Mon, May 12, 14 at 23:41
| YanksFan7, what size are the pots with the built-in cages? (I ask because the only pots with built-in cages I've seen were quite small.) Calculate the inside volume of your pot in cubic inches, then divide the volume of the pot by 368.8 (which is the number of cubic inches in a dry gallon), and that will tell you how many gallons the pot holds. Then someone who knows Better Bush can tell you how likely it is that that variety will be happy in a pot that size. [Garden pots are measured in dry gallons rather than liquid gallons, which are a bit smaller.] |
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- Posted by Farmington none (My Page) on Tue, May 13, 14 at 2:22
| I GREW FIVE HEIRLOOMS IN 15 GALLON POTS. FERTILIZE THEM WITH DR EARTH TOMATO NPK 473,PLACED WORM CASTING,ROCK DUST. FOILAGE SPRAY THEM Q2WEEK WITH EPSON SALT ALTERNATE WITH FISH FERTILIZER FOILAGE SPRA. WATER THEM 3X PER WEEK. WALAH MY TOMATOE ARE LANKY, LOOKS LIKE PRISONERS FROM THE BRIDGE OF THE RIVER KWAI. MALNOURISHED, THIN, SMALL CURLED UP LEAVES ALL OVER, LEATHERY LEAVES. LOOKS LIKE THEY JUST LOST THE NBA PLAYOFFS. PLANTED THE SAME THING (SAME HEIRLOOM)ON THE GROUND SAME TIME AND THEY ARE GIGANTIC,BIG SUCCULENT LEAVES.FRUIIT AND FLOWERS.LOOKING LIKE THEY WERE GIVEN TESTOSTERONE AND STEROIDS. WHAT WENT WRONG WITH MY POTTING TOMATO PLANTS ? |
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- Posted by missingtheobvious Blue Ridge 7a (My Page) on Tue, May 13, 14 at 12:23
| Farmington, if you're not sure how to begin your own thread (it's too confusing if you try to start a new topic on someone else's thread), look at the top of the Growing Tomatoes forum list page and click on the Post a Message link above and to the right of the "Growing Tomatoes" heading. [Kind of hiding in plain sight, isn't it?] And please don't use all-caps. That's the Internet equivalent of "shouting." It tends to give folks headaches, so many will just skip your post entirely -- meaning you'll get fewer responses. |
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| The volume of the pot alone was 807. 78 cubic inches. So the pot holds about 2.19 dry gallons total. I didn't calculate the volume of the pot with the tomato cage, since it slants inward near the top like most cages and would throw off the volume. The height from the bottom of the pot to the top of the cage was 25.5 inches. Is this pot good? |
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| Yanks Fan, I think the pot size is way too small even for small patio bush tomato. I have not grown any tomatoes in pot before but I think a 5 gallon bucket is about the smallest size. But it is possible with frequent fertilizing and watering to grow in a bucket. I am growing one Silvery Fir Tree Tomato in 5 gallon as a patio ornamental. This is going to be an experiment for me. here is a picture: |
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| So the pot holds about 2.19 dry gallons total. Agree. Too small by at least half. Even bigger would be much better. Less work, better production, healthier plant, better moisture and nutrient control, etc. I don't grow even small dwarf plants in less than 7 gallons and standard plants get 15 gallons minimum. Dave |
This post was edited by digdirt on Fri, May 16, 14 at 10:28
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