Specific pruning and training techniques

[applestar]

So this year, my plan is to try applying specific pruning and training / supporting / trellising and other techniques that I have been binge watching on YouTube over the past couple of years, and especially last year.

Here are details of the techniques for Cucurbits. Some are specifically outlined in instructions for growing specific variety of a hybrid melon (by which I mean the instructions may be tailored to the growth habits of the particular hybrid, and not universally applicable to the type of plant). Generally, the techniques appear to be in common use by Japanese market farmers, but there are regional differences, and I’ve basically compiled common methods and specifics that seem to apply to my growing conditions/climate….

Japanese Cucurbit pruning/training techniques:

MELON (trellis vs. ground)

1. Protect and maintain planted melon seedlings under vented plastic or garden fleece hot cap/tunnel (hot daytime and warm night time temps no lower than 60°F)
2. Pinch off/cut main (parent) vine after 5~6 leaves
3. Choose (THREE OR FOUR) side shoot (children) vines and remove rest 
*one of them will become Asobi zuru 遊びヅル — DON’T pinch growing tip; REMOVE all female flowers/ALLOW NO FRUIT — cucurbits need at least one uninterrupted growing tip to continue to grow
4. Remove all side shoots of side shoots (grandchildren vines) until there are (5~8) leaves on children vines
5. Once the children vines become unruly under the cover/tunnel (1.5~2ft) remove the cover/tunnel, guide the vines and provide supplemental fertilizer
6. Allow children vines to crawl and root, then guide up trellis if growing vertically, and pinch at shoulder height trellis rail (15~20 leaves)
7. Grandchild vines from 6th leaf node and rest should be guided with jute string to climb diagonally/zig-zag up the trellis (tie to child vine at base of grandchild — tie other end to shoulder height trellis rail)
hirochan-noen https://youtu.be/fkv3Z48Fnrk
8. MELON VINES produce best quality fruits on the FEMALE BLOSSOMS ON GRANDCHILDREN VINES ELEVATED UP FROM THE GROUND LEVEL


WATERMELON

1. Cover with fleece tunnel to maintain high daytime temperature and warm nighttime temperature
2. Pinch main/parent vine growth point after 5 or 6 leaves
3. Allow children vines to grow quickly under the protected tunnel
4. At each leaf node, pinch/remove side shoot/grandchildren shoots and 1st female flower (watermelon’s 1st female fruit / fruit before 7th leaf is typically deformed/substandard) until SECOND FEMALE BLOSSOM OPENS (on 8th leaf node +), BUT PRESERVE MALE BLOSSOMS FOR HAND POLLINATING
5. Hand pollinate this 2nd blossom on the day it opens before 9AM
6. Once the children vines become unruly under the tunnel (1.5~2ft) remove the tunnel/cover, guide the vines and provide supplemental fertilizer
7. IF AND ONLY IF 2nd blossom pollination failed, hand pollinate the 3rd female blossom on the same vine (otherwise, 3rd is likely to be deformed, too — 2nd is best — and undesirable), or 4th, etc. until viable fruit development is achieved between 8th node~10th node (vine will be wasted without a fruit)
8. Wrap up to 4 children vine around string or net, slightly leaning or vertical trellis in zigzag/diagonal pattern
9. Remove ALL other children shoots/vines at base of plant
10. Remove lowest leaves that maybe yellowed or tends to get soil splashed up, but ONLY ONE LEAF every other day — removing more at once will cause stress
Tsukaharanoen https://youtu.be/LULIdfNWwng
11. Further grandchildren side shoots can be allowed to grow IF the 2nd female blossom is successfully pollinated since the vine will pre-empt/concentrate nutrient supply to the fruit


CUCUMBER

1. Pinch side shoots (children vines) AND FLOWERS from first 5 true leaf nodes — allow fruits and children vines to develop from 6th to 15th nodes as described below
2. *select/allow (2~3 or 3~4) STRONG children vines to grow between 11th~15th nodes (knee to chest high)
— some of them will become Asobizuru 遊びヅル (leisure vine) — DON’T pinch growing tip; REMOVE all female flowers/NO FRUIT
— asobizuru is also called chikarazuru (power vine) — will be tucked inside the trellis to grow.
3. *As 1st fruit develops at 6th node and children vines begin to take off, pinch/cut 6th node to 10th node children vines after TWO leaves and allow just the one female blossom/fruit at base of 1st leaf to develop. Feed with supplemental fertilizer for bloom and fruit development (+PK, Dolomitic Lime=Magnesium+Calcium) at this time.
*Tsukaharanoen https://youtu.be/a9dee0tjQ3M
4. When growing vertically on a trellis, pinch/cut main leader vine (parent vine) growth point at 15th node = eye level ~ head height and tie/secure to top of trellis
5. From 11th node, continue to pinch/cut off the children vines after 2 leaves and harvest the one fruit at 1st leaf node, BUT choose 2 or 3 moderately strong vines to become Asobizuru / Chikarazuru / Powervine
6. Set up a horizontal twine support for the Powervines and tie down to grow sideways WITHOUT PINCHING/cutting off the growing tip.
— Powervines are like power generators for the main/parent vine. If parent vine leaves stops growing larger, assume another powervine is needed to generate supplemental energy. Up to 4 powervines.
7. As fruits are harvested from the 1st and possibly 2nd leafnodes of children vines, grandchildren vines will grow from the same 2 leafnodes. Continue to pinch/cut after 2 leaves for the grandchildren vines, and harvest the fruits that form from the leafnodes.
8. Remove yellowed lower leaves and keep up with fertilizing to maintain healthy growth

Tsukahara Noen https://youtu.be/RLOwmVCWVNg


SQUASH/pumpkin

1. Pinch/remove main vine after 5 true leaves
2. Keep TWO children vines that are strong, from leaf nodes on either side of the vine and growing in the right direction (not on underside)
3. Remove all other children vines but KEEP ALL MAIN LEAVES and male flowers

[not quite finished researching this one]

——

— — added/reviewed for 2022 — —

CHAMOE / KOREAN MELON —

• Pinch main vine after 5~6 leaves

• Choose 2~4 children vines per plant to grow and cut off the rest. (1st node child is usually not a good choice and should be culled)

• Pinch children vines after ~20 leaf nodes

• Remove suckers on children vines from 1st~7th leaf nodes, then allow 8th~11th node grandchildren vines to set 1 fruit, and then grow 2 more leaves, then pinch.

• For each child vine, choose only 2 grandchildren vines with 1 fruit each to grow to maturity for best results.

• Grandchildren shoots from 12th~20th leafnodes should be pinched above 1st leaf node

WATERMELON— (review)

* Large fruited watermelons take approximately 50 days to mature after pollinating; and small fruited watermelons take approximately 35 days *

** Best watermelon fruits develop on children vines; grandchildren vine fruits are inferior **

• Pinch main vine after 5~6 leaves

• Choose 2~4 children vines to grow, and remove all suckers from the children vines up to 7th leafnode. Allow any male blossom to open.

• When first female blossom appears around 7th or 8th node, CULL. This one will tend not to develop into good fruit.

• Remove all grandchildren shoots that develop on leafnodes until SECOND FEMALE BLOSSOM (on 8th leaf node +), BUT PRESERVE MALE BLOSSOMS FOR HAND POLLINATING

• Hand pollinate this 2nd blossom on the day it opens before 9AM
  Allow all grandchildren vines to grow beyond the 2nd blossom once the fruit has set.

• ONLY if the 2nd blossom fails to set, hand pollinate a 3rd blossom on same child vine. Limit to 1 fruit per child vine, and up to 4 children vines per plant.

[applestar]

Pruning bell peppers for air circulation and larger thicker walled, juicy fruits

She is pruning to 4 scaffold branched from the main trunk, leaving open vase form, but I will probably prune to 3 scaffold branches.

肉厚の美味しいピーマンを収穫するための大事なお世話【タネなっぴー】【整枝】
‘Important Care for harvesting thick-walled delicious bell peppers’

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nj-0D5SBHYc

Eggplant branch pruning technique is similar but slightly different and more disciplined to trim back each sucker branch rather than breaking them off — I might prune the eggplants to 4 scaffolds.

In both instances, the scaffold branches are selected from suckers that grow below and above the FIRST BLOSSOM/FRUIT

【ナス】たくさん収穫するためには、この時期に株を早く大きくする事です。NO460（2022.5.25）
‘[(Eggplants)] To harvest many [fruits], start by quickly growing large plants’

https://youtu.be/g_QTYaWoKKw

[imafan26]

Great tutorial.

[applestar]

EGGPLANTS — one fruit per one side shoot/sucker method

(Also how to choose and support main scaffold limbs)


https://youtu.be/V2iOkTHp4us

To review how I understand this —

Basically, the scaffold limbs consist of the main stem + 2 or 3 strongest sucker branches.

• Typically, they are chosen from
  (1) leafnode just below the first blossom and from leafnode above the first blossom = main +2 = 3
  (2) leafnode just below the first blossom, then just below the 2nd blossom = main +2 = 3
  (3) leafnode just below the first blossom on main stem, one from leafnode above, then just below the 1st blossom on sucker = main +3 = 4
  (3) sometimes, instead of the 1st sucker blossom, the sucker off one more node below the first sucker is preserved and used = 4

• These scaffold limbs are secured to stakes or supported with strings and allowed to grow until they reach eye-level, then pinched/pruned

The plant will bloom/fruit on the scaffold limbs after every 2 leaves, and side shoots/suckers grow from every leaf node.

• On each side shoot, a flower will grow after 2 leaves and (as long as conditions are favorable) set fruit.
  
  (1) Pinch each side shoot after one or two more leaves grow above the flower/fruit —
  
  Leaving the leaf to grow above the fruit is necessary NOT for shading the fruit but to promote proper water distribution and metabolic circulation to the fruits (water is taken up by roots and transported to leaves to be “transpired out”, and leaves turn sunlight into energy/sugars and transport to roots, distributing to the fruits along the way
  
  (2) Suckers growing from leaf nodes above the fruit are pinched off.
  
  (3) When fruit has grown sufficiently and is harvested, the entire upper side shoot branch (not just fruit) is cut back to one of the two suckers below the fruit. By this time, only one of the suckers should have been allowed to grow and the other should have been pinched off.

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/m55Nz6PKCq8

• Repeat above procedure when a flower grows after 2 leaves on the new sucker/side shoot and (as long as conditions are favorable) set fruit.

** As the plant grows, all suckers (as well as some of the leaves) growing toward interior of the plant are removed to maintain vase shape, promote air circulation, and most importantly to allow sunlight to reach all blossoms — eggplant blossoms will fail to set fruit if sun/light is insufficient **

— TWO FRUITS PER SIDE SHOOT method is basically the same except allow two fruits to form and then pruning back to one of the two suckers below fruit after both fruits are harvested

— continue to water and supplemental feed with balanced + especially calcium, magnesium and phosphorus (dolomitic lime, epsom salts, fish bone meal, etc.)

— after the eggplant has been producing for a while, and the plant has reached full height, if fruit quality drops off, it might be time for “renewal pruning” This involves dramatically pruning to cut back and open up the plant, as well as root pruning —and will pause production for about a month — consider if sufficient growing days remain in the season before attempting….

* In Japan, the renewal pruning timing seem to generally coincide with beginning of the typhoon season and is considered a practical way to eliminate large eggplant leaves and floppy limbs that easily suffer from buffeting winds, and bruise fragile eggplant fruits — basically taking a break from production since the plants will be destroyed anyway.

[applestar]

… I haven’t summarized tomato pruning techniques here — partly because I feel like people have already established methods, but I’ve come across some intriguing methods and underlying reasoning that may or may not be of interest:

- All solanacea have tendency to grow strongly developing suckers from leafnode just below a floral truss — I.e. nutrients and water are intentionally diverted to the sucker

…I used to hear remove all suckers below the first floral truss … but in these Japanese tutorials, I learned that IF you want to allow more than a single main stem to grow — especially in case of smaller fruited/cherry varieties — “SAVE that first sucker below the FIRST BLOSSOM on the main stem” as the first branch, then choose other suckers from just below other floral trusses for strongest secondary stems.

(Have you noticed those sucker stems and leaves grow extraordinarily thicker and bigger? Sometimes to the point of replacing the original main stem as the leader?)

- Also, a concept that I’m still exploring and experimenting with — the idea that the leaf opposite the stem on large fruited tomatoes could divert the necessary calcium away from the fruit, and REMOVING that leaf would help fend off Blossom End Rot….

* One of the pruning techniques that the Japanese agricultural centers (similar to agricultural extensions here) recommend seems to be to
— Remove all leaves (and suckers) opposite and below ripening fruit truss (colored beyond blushing — once 2 or three fruits have blushed and ripened on the truss in case of cherry varieties)

… So I guess pruning from the bottom up and up to the currently lowest fruit truss on that stem is the recommendation by those Japanese agricultural centers.

Generally when reason is given, they seem to be saying that those lower leaves are “not needed” for the lowest fruit truss any more once the fruits have started to blush and color — so what does that mean? According to that explanation for leaving one or two leafs above the fruit and pinching back, water comes up from the roots and is transported to the leaves

… I wonder if by removing the leaves surrounding the floral truss, the water transport ends up mostly by-passing the floral truss? We do know the fruits don’t need to be attached to the vine to ripen once they are blushed….

(I think the word that best fits is “pre-empt” the calcium away from the fruit — so maybe the water soluble calcium gets sent to the leaf instead?)

…Another tomato pruning method that was new to me is similar in process as the “TWO FRUITS PER SUCKER/SIDE SHOOT” method mentioned above for eggplants. I’m still trying to understand it because this method for tomatoes was promoted as a way to maintain *compact* plants for growing inside a mini hoop house. Now that I understand the method for eggplants a little better, I’ll go back and review the method for tomatoes and see if they are same or slightly different….

[applestar]

… There are wide range of growing conditions as well as expectations, and pruning/training practices and techniques should be
chosen based on applicable merits.

(That’s why I try not to imply that there is only one way/method for growing anything….)


… As an example, I find the “renewal” pruning for eggplants intriguing, but because it sets back the plant for 4 to 6 weeks until it regroups and then bursts back into production mode, it is probably not a technique that I could (always?) make use of due to shorter growing season (5 months of frost~freeze).

It involves dramatically cutting back and thinning branches, as well as root pruning by severing roots around the plant with garden shovel to encourage denser new feeder roots. I think there might be some similarity to bonsai pruning? or maybe fruit tree pruning?

— I’ll try to at least outline the basics very soon.

…Also, just this morning, I came across yet another eggplant training/pruning method. This person said using this method eliminates the need for the “renewal pruning” — I’ll research and discuss if this is also an accepted alternative method.

[pepperhead212]

I've been using some of these tips I've seen in your articles, not following them religiously, but some of them seem to benefit from that 2 fruits per shoot or cluster, because a couple of them seem to grow too many fruits for them to support, and they would get BER, while others I have no problems with. As long as I watch those closely, and limit them to 2, no BER. However, with most varieties, even with a lot of fruits per cluster, there were no problems.

The cucurbits I've been trying to limit to maybe one shoot per 5 leaves, but they have been tough to control! I'll have to do one untrimmed, and compare to the same variety trimmed, to see what difference it makes.

Those pole beans are another type that put more shoots out than I can control! I just snip them off at the top of the trellis, and eventually, I'll have more than I can pick! lol

[applestar]

I have to run out and get the garden watered before 8am water restriction, but here is a quick view/summary of example of Renewal/Revitalization Pruning for eggplants — typically performed around July-August timeframe* after plants are fully mature and have been producing for a while to shock and set back the plants from thinking they are done and should switchover to seed production (faster maturing fruits — smaller fruit size, dull skin, hard mature seeds)

* Considered a good timing to avoid severe typhoon winds damage of the big leaved mature plants that would get buffeted around and tender skinned fruits whipped and damaged beyond marketability.

https://www.takii.co.jp/tsk/y_garden/sp ... index.html