new tomato plants
Hello, have a lot of plants coming on, 1st batch up about 2+ inches, I havent had my own plants for about 30 yrs, when and how much to clip so theybush out ???
As far as I'm aware you don't. Either you have a determinate type in which case it will form a bushy plant naturally or you have a indeterminate type which will grow on as a single stem and you will decide how many trusses (bunches of fruit) you want and then stop the plant by removing the tip. I usually allow a maximum of five trusses to produce sizable tomatoes - provided the are fed periodically and remain healthy.
I would google "growing tomatoes" and see what comes up. While you should not be pinching back the top growth on most tomato plants you should probably be pruning them as they grow.
I take out all the shoots that form at the crutch of each branch. You don't want too heavy a plant and you don't want more than 2 branches growing up so every week or two you should be going through and removing all the shoots as they develop.
feeding with a high potash when they are setting fruit is a very good idea. Potash is the third # in the fertilizer (0-0-15) or (5-5-15) and then it should be applied as discribed on the package. (don't fertilize tomato plants until they are a pretty good size (4 or 5" tall) and then fertilize lightly for the first bit.
I take out all the shoots that form at the crutch of each branch. You don't want too heavy a plant and you don't want more than 2 branches growing up so every week or two you should be going through and removing all the shoots as they develop.
feeding with a high potash when they are setting fruit is a very good idea. Potash is the third # in the fertilizer (0-0-15) or (5-5-15) and then it should be applied as discribed on the package. (don't fertilize tomato plants until they are a pretty good size (4 or 5" tall) and then fertilize lightly for the first bit.
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