Following the advice in the book "Square Foot Gardening", I've planted
my tomatoes closer together this season than ever before. Now I have
six large tomato plants all growing together to form one giant tomato
bush. Should I prune the tomato plants back to prevent overcrowding
of the limbs?

-Fleemo

You silly goose.

You made me think there might be some new tomato cultivar with fruit that
makes you poop!

Since you planted them too close together, you have given yourself no choice
but to cut the plants back.


Fleemo wrote in message
om...
Following the advice in the book "Square Foot Gardening", I've planted
my tomatoes closer together this season than ever before. Now I have
six large tomato plants all growing together to form one giant tomato
bush. Should I prune the tomato plants back to prevent overcrowding
of the limbs?

-Fleemo

"Fleemo" wrote in message
om...
Following the advice in the book "Square Foot Gardening", I've planted
my tomatoes closer together this season than ever before. Now I have
six large tomato plants all growing together to form one giant tomato
bush. Should I prune the tomato plants back to prevent overcrowding
of the limbs?

-Fleemo

I wouldn't. You'll get nicer tomatoes if they grow in the shade of all those
leaves.

In article ,
(Fleemo) writes:

Following the advice in the book "Square Foot Gardening", I've planted
my tomatoes closer together this season than ever before. Now I have
six large tomato plants all growing together to form one giant tomato
bush. Should I prune the tomato plants back to prevent overcrowding
of the limbs?

-Fleemo


If the past three days are an indication of summer-to-be, then you shouldn't
prune at all. Tomatoes will be sunburned without a good cover of leaves
in our 100+ temps.
If later on, it seems to be too much of a jungle in there, you can selectively
prune off a few leaves to let in some air and light.

Emilie
NorCal

I have been watching a lot of garden shows this season (Martha, Rebecca,
Victory Garden, HGTV etc.) and I recently heard two things about pruning
tomatoes. One was that you should cut all side branches from tomato plants.
Not laterals but if there are laterals that branch out further. Supposedly
these just suck energy away from tomato production.

Secondly, somewhere it was said that you should lop off the first blooms on
a tomato plant because it will ensure bigger better tomatoes down the road.
It seems to me that if this is true, it might only work for indeterminate
tomatoes not determinate ones.

Can anyway shed light on either of these two pieces of wisdom?




"MLEBLANCA" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Fleemo) writes:

Following the advice in the book "Square Foot Gardening", I've planted
my tomatoes closer together this season than ever before. Now I have
six large tomato plants all growing together to form one giant tomato
bush. Should I prune the tomato plants back to prevent overcrowding
of the limbs?

-Fleemo


If the past three days are an indication of summer-to-be, then you
shouldn't
prune at all. Tomatoes will be sunburned without a good cover of leaves
in our 100+ temps.
If later on, it seems to be too much of a jungle in there, you can
selectively
prune off a few leaves to let in some air and light.

Emilie
NorCal

The first thing I thought of when I saw the subject was "dried plum
tomatoes"

"mmarteen" wrote in message
...
I have been watching a lot of garden shows this season (Martha, Rebecca,
Victory Garden, HGTV etc.) and I recently heard two things about pruning
tomatoes. One was that you should cut all side branches from tomato
plants.
Not laterals but if there are laterals that branch out further.
Supposedly
these just suck energy away from tomato production.

Secondly, somewhere it was said that you should lop off the first blooms
on
a tomato plant because it will ensure bigger better tomatoes down the
road.
It seems to me that if this is true, it might only work for indeterminate
tomatoes not determinate ones.

Can anyway shed light on either of these two pieces of wisdom?


All I can say is that the size of the tomatoes doesn't matter if they're
cracked from the sun, and from uneven soil moisture. The canopy of leaves is
there for a good reason. Why screw around with it? With almost any modern
tomato variety, I find that 2 big plants gives me more than enough tomatoes
for a family of 3, plus assorted neighbors. I grow them in a simple, home
made cylindrical cage, 3' in diameter and 5' high.

Doug Kanter wrote:

"mmarteen" wrote in message
...
I have been watching a lot of garden shows this season (Martha, Rebecca,
Victory Garden, HGTV etc.) and I recently heard two things about pruning
tomatoes. One was that you should cut all side branches from tomato
plants.
Not laterals but if there are laterals that branch out further.
Supposedly
these just suck energy away from tomato production.

Secondly, somewhere it was said that you should lop off the first blooms
on
a tomato plant because it will ensure bigger better tomatoes down the
road.
It seems to me that if this is true, it might only work for indeterminate
tomatoes not determinate ones.

Can anyway shed light on either of these two pieces of wisdom?


All I can say is that the size of the tomatoes doesn't matter if they're
cracked from the sun, and from uneven soil moisture. The canopy of leaves is
there for a good reason. Why screw around with it? With almost any modern
tomato variety, I find that 2 big plants gives me more than enough tomatoes
for a family of 3, plus assorted neighbors. I grow them in a simple, home
made cylindrical cage, 3' in diameter and 5' high.

In some climates, where summer sun and temperatures are pretty mild, removing
the laterals is definitely recommended, else the fruit receives insufficient
sunlight to ripen satisfctorily.

pam - gardengal

On Mon, 02 Jun 2003 06:14:26 -0400, Dwight Sipler
wrote:

The first thing I thought of when I saw the subject was "dried plum
tomatoes"

^_^ Isn't it funny what some subject lines suggest? "Squirrel eating
bulbs" was a real knee-slapper (just add a hyphen). I gather
additional amusement by *mis*-reading some lines.

"mmarteen" wrote:

I have been watching a lot of garden shows this season (Martha, Rebecca,
Victory Garden, HGTV etc.) and I recently heard two things about pruning
tomatoes. One was that you should cut all side branches from tomato plants.
Not laterals but if there are laterals that branch out further. Supposedly
these just suck energy away from tomato production.
I've also read that you should remove "suckers" but ONLY on
indeterminate (vining) plants. They are the shoots that sprout from
the V-nothces of leafy laterals (between the branch and main stem).
One source said these will only be leafy stems. So the best action is
to pinch them out and let the plant concentrate on its first fruit
bearing laterals.

In Sq.Ft.Gardening Bartholemew explains that these will produce an
entire new vine, eventually with its own laterals (every third one
bearing fruit). However, you may not have enough season or energy to
produce ripe fruit on every laterals on a very tall vine. Somewhere I
read the vining type can be grown as a bush by terminating the main
stem and letting the suckers mature--therefore producing a bush form.
Don't know how reliable that second bit is-but it makes sense.

Determinate or bush plants should not pruned, since they grow to a
certain size (2-3ft) naturally. You need to know which you have. Seed
packets or the purchase source should tell you which it is. Once
grown you can differentiate them (too late) bush/determinates end the
branches with flowers, while vining produce short stems with flowers
along the branches.
Secondly, somewhere it was said that you should lop off the first blooms on
a tomato plant because it will ensure bigger better tomatoes down the road.
It seems to me that if this is true, it might only work for indeterminate
tomatoes not determinate ones.

Can anyway shed light on either of these two pieces of wisdom?




"MLEBLANCA" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Fleemo) writes:

Following the advice in the book "Square Foot Gardening", I've planted
my tomatoes closer together this season than ever before. Now I have
six large tomato plants all growing together to form one giant tomato
bush. Should I prune the tomato plants back to prevent overcrowding
of the limbs?

-Fleemo


If the past three days are an indication of summer-to-be, then you
shouldn't
prune at all. Tomatoes will be sunburned without a good cover of leaves
in our 100+ temps.
If later on, it seems to be too much of a jungle in there, you can
selectively
prune off a few leaves to let in some air and light.

Emilie
NorCal



DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)

What a dweeb.

I had said earlier that the subject heading made it look like they were
talking about some new fangled tomatoe that makes you poop.



Dwight Sipler wrote in message
...
The first thing I thought of when I saw the subject was "dried plum
tomatoes"

What a dweeb.

I had said earlier that the subject heading made it look like they were
talking about some nw fangled tomatose that makes you poop.


Frogleg wrote in message
...
On Mon, 02 Jun 2003 06:14:26 -0400, Dwight Sipler
wrote:

The first thing I thought of when I saw the subject was "dried plum
tomatoes"

^_^ Isn't it funny what some subject lines suggest? "Squirrel eating
bulbs" was a real knee-slapper (just add a hyphen). I gather
additional amusement by *mis*-reading some lines.

You shouldn't be watching those shows.

They will rot your brain.

Oops, too late!!!


mmarteen wrote in message
...
I have been watching a lot of garden shows this season (Martha, Rebecca,
Victory Garden, HGTV etc.) and I recently heard two things about pruning
tomatoes. One was that you should cut all side branches from tomato
plants.
Not laterals but if there are laterals that branch out further.
Supposedly
these just suck energy away from tomato production.

Secondly, somewhere it was said that you should lop off the first blooms
on
a tomato plant because it will ensure bigger better tomatoes down the
road.
It seems to me that if this is true, it might only work for indeterminate
tomatoes not determinate ones.

Can anyway shed light on either of these two pieces of wisdom?




"MLEBLANCA" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Fleemo) writes:

Following the advice in the book "Square Foot Gardening", I've planted
my tomatoes closer together this season than ever before. Now I have
six large tomato plants all growing together to form one giant tomato
bush. Should I prune the tomato plants back to prevent overcrowding
of the limbs?

-Fleemo


If the past three days are an indication of summer-to-be, then you
shouldn't
prune at all. Tomatoes will be sunburned without a good cover of leaves
in our 100+ temps.
If later on, it seems to be too much of a jungle in there, you can
selectively
prune off a few leaves to let in some air and light.

Emilie
NorCal

In article ,
"Cereoid-UR12yo" wrote:

What a dweeb.

Isn't that an acronym for Darned Wonderful Excitingly Ecclectic Buddy?

I had said earlier that the subject heading made it look like they were
talking about some new fangled tomatoe that makes you poop.

Or, if you seal up your bung hole tight enough, makes you pop.

-paghat the ratgirl

Dwight Sipler wrote in message
...
The first thing I thought of when I saw the subject was "dried plum
tomatoes"

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

"Pam" wrote in message
...

All I can say is that the size of the tomatoes doesn't matter if they're
cracked from the sun, and from uneven soil moisture. The canopy of
leaves is
there for a good reason. Why screw around with it? With almost any
modern
tomato variety, I find that 2 big plants gives me more than enough
tomatoes
for a family of 3, plus assorted neighbors. I grow them in a simple,
home
made cylindrical cage, 3' in diameter and 5' high.

In some climates, where summer sun and temperatures are pretty mild,
removing
the laterals is definitely recommended, else the fruit receives
insufficient
sunlight to ripen satisfctorily.


Hmm! I didn't know that. But, I wasn't aware the fruit itself needed sun to
ripen. 90% of mine are shaded by the leaves. Maybe I'm missing out on faster
tomatoes. :-)