Tomatoes

Tomatoes are forming!!



These plants haven't gotten taller at all lol, I love how compact they are!!

Got quite a few tomatoes on the plants now!! I'm very much looking forward to tasting them p:

Tons of flowers! Tons of green tomatoes!! Two ripe ones!!



I ate the ripe ones, and they were such sweet little gems. I look forward to eating the rest!

Consider yourself an ace tomato farmer, maskedsonnet!  So glad they taste good!

Did you prune the tomatoes at all, maskedsonnet ? You have tons of flowers, so I'm wondering whether that was the plants' decision!

Not sure how applicable this is to AG and Determinate plants but here is info from HydroGardens on how the Greenhouse growers prune.  I have never followed all of this with my outdoor plants, I allow several branches, it makes for more tomatoes.. maybe not as big but still more and just as tasty.. I do remove lower leaves as the plant grows vertically.  Anyway, some of the info may be helpful.

Why Should I Prune?

Dear Sirs, I am doing a project at school about hydroponically grown tomatoes. My topic that I have to look up for my presentation is pruning. I need to know why you would prune your tomato plants, when you should prune them, and how you would prune them, as in ripping of the leaves or cutting them. I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me anything about my topic as soon as possible, or give me some internet sites that i could go to, for finding information on pruning.

Thank You E. Cook
Dear E.,

Tomato plants are usually pruned in three ways, lateral shoots, bottom leaves and fruit clusters. I will attempt to explain each of these parts of the plant and the reason for the need to prune.

Whenever possible, it is better to snap the leaves or fruit off, rather than using pruning shears. Pruning shears can smear the juices from one plant into the wound of the next plant and possibly spread diseases. The only pruning job that will require pruning shears is the removal of the fruit cluster after the all the fruit has been harvested. This procedure may require disinfecting the shears occasionally with rubbing alcohol.

The plant has natural breaking points which will allow the plant to heal quicker and not leave any small remaining plant parts that will later die and allow an entry point for fungus. These breaking points are where a leaf attaches to the main stem of the plant. There is also a knuckle, called an abscission layer located behind each fruit on a cluster. Again, this is a natural break point. The lateral shoots do not have a natural breaking point, so it is recommended that these be removed when they are as small as possible.

Tomato plants would like to become a bush. At each leaf, the plant will attempt to produce a lateral shoot, or sucker. If this lateral shoot is allowed to grow, it will become another stem on the plant. When the plants are grown vertically in a greenhouse, usually they are pruned to only one stem – all lateral shoots are removed. The lateral shoots are usually removed when they are 1″ – 3″ long. Allowing the shoots to get bigger only wastes the energy of the plant and will create a larger wound when the shoot is removed. Maintaining only one stem on each plant allows better management of plant spacing and helps control the amount of light reaching each plant and allows for better ventilation around each plant. It also keeps a better balance with the root system and will usually produce larger fruit than you would get from a plant that is allowed to bush. With better ventilation, controlling insects is also easier.

Pruning of the lower leaves on tomato plants is necessary to provide better ventilation around the base of the plants, which helps to reduce fungus problems. It also allows the grower to see the fruit as they ripen, making them easier to harvest. These older leaves begin to age and are no longer contributing to the photosynthesis of the plant. As the leaves age, they begin to yellow and turn brown. They can actually begin to attract fungus, which can spread to the healthy leaves.

As a tomato plant grows, the plant will usually produce 6 – 10 true leaves before it produces a cluster of flowers. After the first cluster, the plant usually will produce 3 leaves and another cluster of flowers. In a greenhouse, the plant will usually be opening the 7th cluster of flowers before the fruit on the 1st cluster is ready for harvest. At this point, the plant would have a full load of leaves (approximately 18 – 21 leaves) for proper photosynthesis and fruit development. A grower usually attempts to keep this number of leaves on the plant throughout the season. Many growers will harvest fruit from 20 – 30 clusters during a growing season. When pruning bottom leaves, only 2 – 3 leaves should be removed at one time. Removing more leaves may cause excessive moisture loss that can shock the plant. If more leaves need to be removed, it is best to wait 2 or 3 days to allow time for the first wounds to scab over.

Each flower cluster on a plant usually consists of 4 to 8 flowers. A grower usually pollinates these flowers and then examines the small fruits when they are 1/2″ – 1″ in diameter. Four fruit that appear to be developing #1 quality will be allowed to mature on each cluster. Any extra fruit – or fruit that is misshapen will be removed before the plant wastes energy developing the fruit. A tomato plant is only capable of holding about 28 fruit at any given time. If excess fruit are allowed to set on the early clusters, the plant will abort the fruit from later clusters. This can cause peaks and valleys in production that can cause marketing problems.

I hope this answers your questions.
Best regards,
Mike Morton President Hydro-Gardens 

Those are some happy looking tomato plants, maskedsonnet!

So many flowers