On Wed, 27 May 2009 22:07:51 GMT, "BD" wrote:

A friend recently told me that she pinches back her tomatoes for maximum
production. Does anyone else do this? I'm not sure exactly what to pinch,
just extraneous branches?


I have never done this. But I have removed the first two branches to
encourage the tomato to grow upright on a stake or cage. Other times
I allow the tomato to vine on the ground, mulched with straw. I
doubt pinching back would increase production, though.