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tomato plant question
Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:49 pm
by greg1186
I have 9 tomato plants... 4 different varieties.. I have been pulling the suckers out the past 3 weeks. I am afraid now cause they have no flowers on them yet... do the flowers come from the suckers? should I be worried there are no flowers yet??
Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:18 pm
by MaryDel
The first flowers on the plant probably will not come from the suckers anyway. I pull the suckers off for the first 30". You will get less fruit, but larger fruit, and you will get fruit sooner.
Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:32 pm
by mansgirl
What are suckers?
Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:46 pm
by TZ -OH6
Suckers are the lateral branches that grow out of the leaf axils.
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 12:25 am
by engineeredgarden
Mansgirl, here is a sucker. It's the little branch that's growing at a 45 degree angle from the main stem.....
[img]https://i48.tinypic.com/2yujek8.jpg[/img]
EG
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:45 am
by TZ -OH6
Greg,
What varieties are you growing and why are you pinching suckers?
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:49 am
by jal_ut
Why is right? I have never pruned a tomato plant at all. Let them do their thing. I have more importrant things to do, like go fishing.
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 2:57 pm
by rainbowgardener
Jal - you grow your tomatoes 3' apart in dry UTah. I grow 5 tomato plants, with other plants, in a 4x8' bed in humid OHio. I pinch suckers out of my tomato plants so that they don't get too crowded, still have air circulation, and hopefully don't spread diseases and infections so much.
Some people also say that pinching the suckers out makes the plant grower fewer but larger tomatoes. I'm not sure about that and don't have any data for it.
There is NOT one right way to do anything in the garden. ALL GARDENING IS LOCAL and everyone has to figure out what works for them.