On Wed, 18 May 2005 17:19:44 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

In the UK's relatively short cool damp summers, it's usually better
to pinch out tomato sideshoots and limit the number of fruit trusses,
so they get maximum sun and air circulation. Leaving them wilting below
the plant is an invitation to mould and fungal spores.

When I went to Canada 2 years ago and was away for a month my tomato
plants on allotment were left to their own devices. They all grew
bushy and meshed toghether, with not as many fruit, I'm sure, as there
would have been if I'd pinched them and tied them in.
Then, before many had ripened, they got blight and I had to scrap the
lot. That was the 4th year in succession. They'd still have got
blight tho', whether I'd pinched them or not, ut fungal diseases, yes,
would be more likely certainly.

Pam in Bristol