Help with topping tomatoes

8 years ago

I am trying to make a decision on whether or not to top my indeterminate tomatoes. I will try and explain my question best as possible. I have indeterminate tomatoes growing in a one stem method. And they are climbing up my wire to a 8 foot cross wire. And so far the tops of the plants have reached this limit. I have pruned off all suckers at this point. I am not really wanting the plants to get any taller, however I do want it to still produce new tomatoes. My question is...if I top off the tomato plant will it stop producing tomato sites or should I top off the plant and let the suckers grow underneath? Hope I explained that well... Thanks for any help...

Featured Answer

digdirt2

8 years ago

Wow you've got to be way south of me and able to plant much earlier if yours are up to the 8' tall wire already. But then I only do minimal pruning and use CRW cages.

But yeah, we do have a long season and I already have about 20 cuttings rooting for a second planting later this month - if it ever dries out :( - and will plant more in late July. So top some of tallest ones and root the cuttings and then you can just replace the others as needed.

I'm assuming you know that Sq Foot can be adjusted to allow for fewer plants but with multiple stems, right? Lots less work and as much if not more fruit.

Dave

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

digdirt2
8 years ago
Search will pull up lots of discussions here about 'topping' Roxie if you want to read through them. But honestly you have painted yourself into a corner IMO with all the pruning you have already done and topping them now likely means the end of any future production. Problem is the more you prune indeterminates the taller they grow to compensate. It is the nature of vines. And once past a certain stage of development the lower stem pulp turns woody and will no longer produce any new lateral branches. At 8' the odds are any new lower branches are very slim.

Can I ask why you elected to prune them to a single stem? Are you using the single string support method rather than multiple strings? Can't you just let them continue to grow laterally along the top wire? It not how much longer is your season? Long enough to root the tip cuttings and plant them as new plants.

When using the single stem string type of support in the Gh the plants are regularly replaced as they max out. So that may be your only option.

Dave
Roxie thanked digdirt2
Roxie
Original Author
8 years ago

I am growing square foot gardening in raised beds. So growing one stem method is my practice, and yes single string. I will try and post a pic of my tomatoes before they reached my 8'. The season is a long one here in Arkansas as you may well know. :) I have plenty of tomatoes on the plants and suckers reproduce nearly everyday from what I have seen. I thought that maybe topping the plant will help gain bigger and more productive tomatoes...but wasn't sure of that process...so your advice was welcomed. Wow it won't let me straighten out the photo I have posted...sorry about that.
Related Discussions
tomato plants wilting on tops
Q
Comments (11)
dixied, if the plants recover in the morning and evening, I wouldn't worry too much... but as Gary suggested, having walnut trees nearby can be a problem. The other possibilities that come to mind are hot, humid weather -- the leaves need to be able to evaporate water to pull more up from the roots -- and Fusarium wilt. Fusarium is a soilborne fungus, and the first symptom is wilting during the hottest part of the day, along with lots of yellow leaves. There's no cure for Fusarium, though I can think of someone who's done a lot of work getting around it (if NCTomatoman's still around, he's got a lot of experience with it in North Carolina). You'd essentially have to figure out some way to grow tomatoes so that they aren't in contact wth any of the native soil... container growing plus some caution. Let us know if you do have walnut trees, though, or if anything else seems odd (like persistent wilting, or spotted leaves). --Alison
...See More
Help ID Leaf Spotting(?) Problem (First time Tomato-er)
Q
Comments (1)
Back of leaf picture here This post was edited by ash1970 on Fri, Jun 6, 14 at 15:40
...See More
help broken tomato tops
Q
Comments (1)
Yes bc.., it can be rooted and regrown into a plant. This is provided it is several inches in length and has several sets of true leaves. It is a common practice to root tomato branches for propagation.
...See More
HELP! Tops of tomatoes turning black??!
Q
Comments (6)
You have Early Blight and Alternaria symptoms on your leaves and all those affected leaves need to be removed from the plants. Continue to remove and dispose of the infected leaves as they develop. Spray the plants with fungicide of your choice. The fruit in the first pic, is developing mold and alternaria at the base of the stem but as the fruit is well past blush it should be picked and finished ripening inside on the counter - same for any other fruti on the plants, pick them at the breaker/blush stage. Do not leave them on the plant to fully ripen or you risk the fruit being infected too. Yet another reason why fruit should always be picked at break stage. Depending on where you are located if you have had an exceptionally wet spring like most of the country you can expect high incidences of fungus diseases this year which is why a regular spraying program with fungicides is so often recommended here. Dave
...See More
Labradors
8 years ago
Roxie,

Since you have a long growing season, perhaps you could take the tops off some of your plants and root them to make new plants. If the topped plants send out suckers you're all set. If they don't, you have the new plants to fall back on.

Linda
Roxie thanked Labradors
Roxie
Original Author
8 years ago
Oh I started my seedlings in January. I keep them indoors under grow lights until its time to harden them off and put them into the garden. That's the only reason they are so big at this time. :) I thought about doing two or three stems next time for sure. I made a video on before and after if you are interested in it... I keep updated videos on my YouTube channel for family and friends to see what I have been up to so in no way am I a professional....so please forgive me for that :) Thanks so much for everyone's advice...and I believe I will be starting new plants for a second run. The before and after
59 Dodge
8 years ago

Here ya go

Gary
Roxie thanked 59 Dodge
daniel_nyc
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Now there, will be a nice "jungle"...soon.

Did you fungicide?

I would NOT prune; except the necessary.

On second thought, I see you planted them pretty close, so you will have to prune.
Roxie
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks so much for fixing my photo :) no I have not used any fungicide haven't really seen any issues to do so just yet...however I do have some organic fungicide in the waiting.
daniel_nyc
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Fungicide is used to PREVENT diseases, not to CURE them.

I would suggest you to start spraying ASAP, regularly, every 7-10 days, or more often if it rains a lot.

Btw, am I wrong or you didn't mulch?
Roxie thanked daniel_nyc
Roxie
Original Author
8 years ago
Sounds good thank you...will do that for sure
qaguy
8 years ago
You could also just let them keep growing without support. They will bend down and keep growing. With your setup, I'd put some sort of padding at the top to keep the vine from kinking.

I use cages made out of PVC pipe and I just let them grow out the top and back down to the ground. No need for padding. I've had plants grow up the six foot tall cage and back down to the ground.

That's a lot of plants. You're sure to have a jungle. Hope you can find all the fruit!

Good luck!