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| We started a garden this year to do as a family, and were recently telling our children about pruning the suckers from the tomatoes. well, they tried to be helpful but instead of pruning just the suckers below the first flower cluster they have removed all the stems from below the first flower cluster. Our plants are only about a foot tall, as we had to replace them due to being destroyed in a storm, and some have small green fruits already, and they still have a decent amount of stems and foliage above the first flowering cluster. So the big question...are the plants ruined??? Will they produce new stems where the ones have been removed? Or will we still get fruit on the top part but have large empty section where the stems have been removed?? Sigh... |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jenniebennie none (My Page) on Sat, Jun 8, 13 at 17:51
| I correct myself...my husband says most of our plants aren't even a foot tall yet. And some still have a good amount of stems and leaves remaining. But a few look like pruned trees with a stem and a tree top LOL. We have had a heck of a time with the garden this year! |
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| and were recently telling our children about pruning the suckers from the tomatoes Can I ask why are you removing so-called suckers and do you understand that it is only done on indeterminate varieties and that it will cost you production? I only ask because we get a lot of post from people who think they MUST be removed and that isn't true. It's an option of course but it isn't required for any reason. Do you plan to do this to the whole plant? instead of pruning just the suckers below the first flower cluster they have removed all the stems from below the first flower cluster. So below the first flower/fruit cluster they removed all the leaf branches and any so-called suckers there. correct? If so that is no real problem. Many remove the leaf branches that touch the ground, some remove all the leaf branches up to the first bloom cluster. The suckers (lateral leaders) are usually left on but new ones will develop further up the plant to compensate for the loss. Dave |
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- Posted by jenniebennie none (My Page) on Sun, Jun 9, 13 at 2:00
| Thank you for your response! We removed the suckers after a neighbor recommending it and reading to do so in many places we referenced on the web. However, after finding and browsing this site and learning it isn't necessary, we will not be doing removing them at all anymore! And yes, that is correct, most suckers, leaves, branches (not sure the actual name of each part) have been removed below the first flower/fruit cluster. They snapped them off right at the main stem...so the stem is basically empty below the first cluster. Do we need to do anything to the spots where the branches were snapped from the main stem, to prevent disease or anything else at those spots? We are having to tease the kids a bit, saying they removed all the branches so they don't have to eat the tomatoes...they hate eating tomatoes! :D |
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| You could spray a fungicide on the spots, but I don't really think it's necessary. Leaves make food for the plants, so fewer leaves mean less food. At this time of year, tomatoes grow fairly rapidly, so your plants should be fine. Leaves touching the soil are removed to prevent ( or at least reduce) soil borne diseases from affecting the plant. |
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| Hi, I asked this question, about suckers, and overwhelming response is DO NOT CUT ANY SUCKERS!!! This is like having a sailboat, and throwing away the sails, and then wondering why you are going nowhere - this is the link to why not to prune suckers: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0609471311477.html?14 have a nice day - oh, and i think they are toast, plant are definitely ruined. |
Here is a link that might be useful: read about how to grow tomatoes.
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- Posted by kathyb912_IN 5a/5b (My Page) on Sun, Jun 9, 13 at 13:16
| "they are toast, plant are definitely ruined." Absolutely disagree. As has been stated, lots of people trim the lowest leaves/branches of their tomatoes to help with airflow and soil being splashed on the leaves during watering. Assuming the kids didn't strip the plants bare and the top is still growing well, I think you'll be fine. You might get some reduced production, but that is a far cry from completely ruining the plants. What varieties of tomatoes are they, and where are you located? More information can help fine tune your answers. :) Kathy |
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