I have my fall tomatoes growing real good, but I am thinking I might trim or prune them some are they are growing right now. Reason is, my summer tomatoes I planted back May, grew and grew and I didn't really cut or prune them and they just kept growing until they fell over and were just a mess.
[img]https://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh144/Runfox/Garden%20and%20Chickens/CIMG02233.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh144/Runfox/Garden%20and%20Chickens/CIMG02223.jpg[/img]
As you can see they are getting like 5 foot tall, they have loads of flowers and fruit. But they keep growing up too, and sooner or later they will start to fall over they get so tall. I have been trimming some outside branches , and I am thinking I need to start trimming the tops too. Any suggestions from you experienced farmers, I'm new to all this yet.
Now you see the problem with storebought ring cages. Too short and flimsy. You can top the plants but that will obviously stop new fruit production. Some of us do that up north to stop new fruit from forming that won't have time to ripen before frost. It also keeps the vines from overgrowing cages (much), but having plants grow up and over cages or stakes is not the end of the world if the supports are sturdy. You can trim out some of the thin interior branches that won't produce. It will let air into the center and slow disease.
If those are wire ring cages (looks like them) you might want to pound in a sturdy stake next to each one to prevent the weight of the fruited plant from toppling them over later.
If those are wire ring cages (looks like them) you might want to pound in a sturdy stake next to each one to prevent the weight of the fruited plant from toppling them over later.
It looks like you need more reliable, strong, aggressive staking. Try making 8 foot cages. Much better support -- and you can re-use them! Or you can trellis your tomatoes. They'll get much more vertical support that way.
As for pruning -- the advantage to pruning now is that the sun isn't as intense as during another part of the year. But pruning also can stimulate growth and you may find you have even BIGGER plants!
My best advice is to stake your plants more aggressively.
Good luck with a wonderful problem ... healthy tomato plants!
As for pruning -- the advantage to pruning now is that the sun isn't as intense as during another part of the year. But pruning also can stimulate growth and you may find you have even BIGGER plants!
My best advice is to stake your plants more aggressively.
Good luck with a wonderful problem ... healthy tomato plants!
So I need better support, that I see. Yeah I had some free ring cages but , thay are pretty uselles as the tomatoes always out grow them. So what is your favorite support method? So by Trellis I guess you tie them off to a fence type section as they grow for support? I think my peppers need that too as the green peppers weight down the plants and end up on the grwound just about, they need support too.
I have been tying mine up trying to help support them , they are growing like monsters, the main stems are like 3/4" diameter hugh. Funny my Cherry and Romas have been flowering and have loads of fruit, but my Big Boys, which are as tall as the other plants, only have a few flowers yet. I don't know why, but they just don't have many flowers or fruit yet, but the plants a re 5' tall, eay.
I have been tying mine up trying to help support them , they are growing like monsters, the main stems are like 3/4" diameter hugh. Funny my Cherry and Romas have been flowering and have loads of fruit, but my Big Boys, which are as tall as the other plants, only have a few flowers yet. I don't know why, but they just don't have many flowers or fruit yet, but the plants a re 5' tall, eay.
Cherrys often have tons of flowers even underbad conditions, and the Romas might be an early determinant variety, which will tend to produce most of its flowers at about the same time. For indeterminant beefsteaks like your Big Boys it would not be uncommon to be around 5" at about the time the third flower truss is produced on the main stem, especially with high soil fertility. With lots of branching, the secondary stems/branches often won't produce flowers for a while. I usually prune down to around six vines because any more are usually runty and don't produce anything. For me, during the first 2/3 of the season the main stem will usually produce half of the plants tomatoes, and the rest are on the 4-5 branches I let grow.