On Fri, 03 May 2013 18:32:07 +0100, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

HI All

Too many tomato plants for the polytunnel (as usual) - so,
on a whim, we planted a couple in a big pot and brought them into the
sunroom.

They're both Indeterminate varieties - so the usual advice is to nip out
the side-shoots.

However, they're now both about 2ft 6inches tall - and have plenty of
side-shoots, but only one set of flowers so far. Normally I'd nip out
the sideshoots and just let the plants grow away, but, as these are
indoor plants, it'd be nice to keep them compact, if possible.

So - the question...

If I leave some side-shoots to develop, will they bear flowers & fruit -
or is there something 'special' about side-shoots that they don't bear
fruit ?

Thanks for your accumulated wisdom Adrian

I think the advice to pinch out all side shoots is because it is difficult
to describe a strategy where you leave a few - just enough - before you
pinch out the rest. :-)

As David says, buy a plant of the variety you want, let the side shoots
grow, then cut them off and pot them up to grow additional plants.

This is often faster and more reliable than growing from seed.

Cheers

Dave R