Firelight4321
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To pinch or not to pinch?

I found this tomato plant randomly growing in my yard, (thank you birds), so I potted it in some good soil. It now has 12 tiny tomatoes starting to grow and 17 flower buds. I don't know what variety of tomato plant it is, so I'm unsure if I should punch off some of the flowers or not... I found one site that said to figure out if it was determinate or indeterminate. (
https://www.desperategardener.com/2011/0 ... s.html?m=1)
Is there a way of finding out the type of tomato from the shape of the leaves or something? Any advice on pruning is welcome!
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Firelight4321
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Just bought a stand for it today.
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GardeningCook
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I'm not a fan of either pinching or pruning, so I vote no - let it be. I don't know where you're located, but it doesn't look like your plant is overly endowed with foliage, which can really help protect developing fruit from sunscald & pests. Let it continue to do its own thing.

imafan26
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Indeterminates have longer internodes and side branches that will form trusses. Determinates have shorter internodes and the flowers are on the terminal tips.l

Firelight4321
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imafan26 wrote:Indeterminates have longer internodes and side branches that will form trusses. Determinates have shorter internodes and the flowers are on the terminal tips.l
Could you link me to a diagram or something that shows me what an internode and terminal tips are? I'm a newb. :>

Firelight4321
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Nvm I think I found some good charts.

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GardeningCook
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Location: Upper Piedmont area of Virginia, Zone 7a

Internode branches are suckers that sprout from the forks of other branches; terminal tips are the very tips of stems/branches.

mkat
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Honestly, I was always taught to pinch the suckers (it's what my grandma and my mom does) so I follow suit. It essentially consists of pinching off the low lying branches at the bottom of the plant or even wayward branches. These branches never flower to produce fruit instead they just divert energy away from the branches that do produce fruit. So I vote "yes."

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GardeningCook
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My tomatoes "low-lying branches" have more & larger fruit then the rest of the plants.

lexusnexus
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All I have are indeterminates so I pinch off the suckers so as not to allow the plant to expend energy and nutrients on unwanted growth. I also prune off any branches hanging down to the ground to prevent a disease path. If you have any fruits growing that are on the ground you will probably get insect damage. The only time I pinched of flowers is when they were seedlings under the grow lights and it was too early to put them in the ground.



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