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jemsister
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To those who prune or know about pruning

Here is my tomato plant.

Image

He's been getting a bit too much rain lately, so he looks slightly stressed, but overall he is doing well.

So here's the deal. I had been planning on pruning suckers because fungus is our major threat here in NW Washington, what with all the rain. I read in a book on gardening in the PNW that pruning is advisable to create airflow, thereby reducing the risk of fungal affliction.

Now to my problem. I was going to prune suckers (I already pruned, BTW, so this is more of a what to do in the future question), which I understand to be all the branches that have sprung up in the crotch of a main branch and the main stem. Correct? Well on my plant, all the so-called suckers have flowers developing on them, while the supposed main branch is doing nothing but shooting out this huge, long branch that has nothing on it. I didn't want to prune flowers--that seemed counter productive to me. So I pruned the branches that didn't have flowers. (I didn't prune very many, as most of the branches did not have suckers.)

So can a sucker actually be the lower branch rather than the middle branch? Pruning is a must for me, so I need to know how to do it right.

Here is my next question. There are three huge branches growing off the main stem--so huge, in fact, that they need support of their own. Which was easy enough to provide, because I had the stakes in a formation surrounding the tomato to make a pseudo-cage with string. Obviously, the rain has caused the string to stretch out, so I need to fix that. Anyway, with all the stakes, I've been able to just tie the large branches to the outer stakes as needed. One of the branches is so large that it's almost like having two main stems instead of one. Is this normal and fine to leave as-is? There are a lot of blooms on them, so obviously I'd prefer to leave them on there, as long as it's okay to do so.

TZ -OH6
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"which I understand to be all the branches that have sprung up in the crotch of a main branch and the main stem."

What you are calling a branch is a leaf with leaflets coming off of it. Barnches (suckers) arise from buds in the axils where each leaf meets the stem.



"So can a sucker actually be the lower branch rather than the middle branch? Pruning is a must for me, so I need to know how to do it right."

I don't know what you are getting at here. But for a single plant, out on its own like yours, all you have to do is trim lower leaves (which you have done, to keep spores from splashing off of the dirt onto them And keep the plant fairly open, which you have done, so that it can dry quickly. Keep whatever branches with flowers that you can. There will be plenty of new little branches (suckers) trying to fill up the space inside the plant as the season progresses. If you can see from one side of the plant to the other (especially near the ground), it is fine in regards to air flow, IMO.

The main trunk should have been the first to flower. It usually buds at the time that the first sucker branches start to grow, but if it doesn't, maybe because a person pinched off the first flowers, you can treat the biggest, first flowering branch as the main stem or stems if you like.

All side branches will get big enough to need support rather quickly, tie them off to your stakes. I don't think that your stake-and string cage will work much better than an infamous ring cage. Good cages rely on a lot of firm contact against the stems to hold up heavy fruit. That often means a tight plant inside the cage, which is not good for air flow.


What variety is that?

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jemsister
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It's Sun Gold. Thanks for all the help! I had been told that suckers were the "extra" branches that grow where the stem and the main branch meet.

My support system is definitely lame. I was planning on staking the tomato, but then everyone and their dogs told be this would not be supportive enough. They suggested extra stakes and stringing between them, since new caging material was out of my $0 budget. :> (I blew my entire wad on soil filling up my planter boxes. And plants and seeds to put in the soil.)

TZ -OH6
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Cherry tomatoes are a different story in regards to pruning. You want many branches. If you don't know the plant's growth habit and don't have a plan, let them grow and then cut out what gets in the way later.

Your string cage will actually work somewhat for a cherry but I would still run branches up the stakes or maybe make some sort of flat trellis. That would solve your air flow problem, too, since it won't bundle up your plant the way a cage does.

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jemsister
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Location: Western Washington, USA

Thanks for all the help, TZ! Very much appreciated. :D



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