Greenhouse Tomatoes - What to expect from Indeterminates?

16 years ago

I am a new greenhouse gardener and so far it's been great! I've been reading all the posts and have followed great advice. I now have 3 indeterminate tomato plants that are about 6 feet tall and have reached the top of my little greenhouse. I have them growing up a string and have been prunning all the suckers. Now I have many medium size green tomotoes. Now...

Do I need to cut off the growing tip?

Once the tip is cut should I expect the plant to give more flowering blooms? More tomatoes?

How long should I keep these plants?

When do I start with new tomato plants?

Thanks in advance all the advice has been wonderful!

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Comments (8)

dirtdigging101
16 years ago
yes the top, u are theire, if u cut the terminal bud it will allow the fruit set to mature and ripen no more gring from the tip so no more tomatoes to set

if u have a few feet of stem from th e ground up u can gently lie that part on the ground and cover with soil and re tie above and keep it going

it there is room at the top u can allow the vine to go some place i let some of mine make a u turn and come back down

if plant is healthy and often they are very healthy
the plants will keep going and growing
HoosierCheroKee
16 years ago
Kendra,

Do you have the tie-up cords attached somehow where you can unfasten the top of each cord and let the entire plant drop down a foot or two ... I mean without untying or unbinding the plant from the vertical suspension cord? You know ... unfastening the vertical cord from the overhead horizontal clothesline rig?

If yes, then you can do as DirtDigging indicates and let the plants down slowly and carefully so you don't snap the main stems, and kind of let the lower foot or two of the stems coil around in big loose loops in such a manner as they don't snap or crimp. You don't necessarily have to bury the lowered stems ... just protect them from damage.

Bill
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HoosierCheroKee
16 years ago
... you need to strip off all the leaves and harvested side branches/clusters from the lower ends of the plants where you intend to lower them.
timmy1
16 years ago
Lean and lower if you don't have outdoor tomatoes planted.

Top them if you just want the 6 weeks of production.
greenhousekendra
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you all for the great advice! I'll try lowering one plant and keeping another so it makes a u-turn downward. The 3rd I'll top off and see what happens! This will be fun!
I guess I can also do cuttings from my current plants to replace the one that will be topped off, right?

Thanks again!
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
16 years ago
You could do the cuttings but if you have healthy, productive plants you will be well ahead to do as others have said and lower your plants.

In future you might do a search for "Tomahooks". These are a 8" galvanized wire hook especially designed to wrap extra twine around so that you can unwrap a few coils to lower plants. I find that varieties differ tremendously in growth habit. I'm already needing to lower my cherry varieties because they are getting out-of-reach.

I find that when I lower it is easier to move the Tomahook to the next suspension hook "varied length rod with "U" on each end" within that tomato row. That way the base of the plants tend to all lay the same way.

Keep in mind that with all the suckers you are removing you don't need the growing tips for regenerating plants.

If you greenhouse is like mine younger plants are really going to struggle to get adequate light among the more advanced plants. I just keep the original plants going into mid Nov. assuming you can close things up at night and provide a little extra heat. Last year it would have been feasible to keep GH tomatoes going til end of Dec. in the northeast.
greenhousekendra
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, bmoser! I will definitely check on the Tomahooks. Can you advice an online garden supplier?
Thanks to all for all the great advice!
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
16 years ago
You might try hydro-gardens.com although I believe there are cheaper sources. Below is their description:

Tomato Hook
This stainless steel twine holder can be purchased with 39' of twine (10' of freefall twine); or without twine. You can wind your own by hand, or with the handy winder during the off season. The Tomahook measures 7" long and hangs from your overhead support wire. One turn lowers the plants the correct distance. Will hold up to 39' of twine.

- Part # Description Ship Wght Qty Price
5E234 Tomahook with twine 35.0# 500/Box $110.95
Tomahook with twine 35.0#/per box 2 Boxes $105.95/ea
5E238
Tomahook without twine 22.0# 400/Box $42.00
Tomahook without twine 22.0#/per box 4 Boxes $36.95 /ea

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Greenhouse Tomatoes - What to expect from Indeterminates?

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Greenhouse Tomatoes - What to expect from Indeterminates?

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