Allowing suckers to form adventitious roots (multi-stem tomatoes)
funkyhat
5 years ago
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funkyhat
5 years agoMokinu
5 years agoRelated Discussions
first sucker
Comments (4)I'll just relate a few observations and let you make a choice. First, the suckers just below any flower cluster are always the fastest growing. Second, if you try to clip or otherwise secure the tomato stem it is best to provide that support just above the cluster to help secure the weight of developing fruit. It's also best to support the sucker within a moderate distance above the relatively weak junction with the stem. I've found that the sucker below the fruit cluster would tend to often conflict with the normal fruit development and harvest ease under those circumstances. If you are planning to sucker with a goal of 2 stems you should aim to sucker to 1 stem and sure enough you'll come by your plants one day and you'll have 2-3 suckers on many plants that are too large to justify removing them. A month later you may have 2-3 suckers on the 2-3 previously developed lateral branches (suckers) and now you are wondering where they all came from. One other point. My first tomatoes are almost worth their weight in gold. If your situation is similar, even if just to serve your palate, then you wouldn't want to hinder the fruit development of the first few flower clusters for the sake of an extra plant branch. Johnnys doesn't see it that way and thousands of others think that any form of suckering is plant abuse. Draw your own conclusions....See MorePulling suckers and then stopping and effect on Tomato production
Comments (20)We've go many different topics injected into this tread now that it is difficult to get it back on track and deal with the original question. newbgardener - it is much better for all concerned if you start your own threads rather than posting more questions on an existing thread. Especially when the questions - such as containers - aren't related to the current threads topic. It isn't fair to the original poster to pull his discussion off course, ok? So sticking with the original questions - I would like them to start to focus on tomato production. What is the best way for me to do this? Should I keep pulling suckers or should I stop and let the suckers grow? Yes, stop pulling the suckers and let them grow. Your plants are now plenty tall enough to accomplish what the goals of Sq. Foot gardening are. In fact you could have stopped at 3 feet in height which is where most quit removing them. Your only limitation now is the method of support you are using as they will get top-heavy. You were somewhat mis-informed from the beginning on how and why to do this with Sq. Foot gardening but that is a whole other discussion that involves many other factors. And does it vary by plant type? I have multiple varieties of tomatoes - Beefsteaks, Big Boys, Cherrys, Grapes, 100s. Yes it does. Determinate varieties are never pruned, you never remove the suckers (which are not 'suckers' anyway but fruit producing lateral branches). Indeterminate varieties (need to know the name of the cherry and grapes to know if they are determinate or indeterminate) such as all the others you list may be pruned but doing so will cost you fruit production. Experienced Sq. Foot gardeners are will to sacrifice some of that production by doing a limited amount of pruning . It is not done so they "can be taller". It is done so that they can 1) use stakes instead of cages, 2) plant more varieties and more plants in a limited amount of space, and 3) reduce shading of the lower growing vegetables. And yes I do some Sq. Foot gardening in addition to my normal gardens and have for many years. I was under the impression that it actually would increase production if you get 2/3 the production per plant but have space for 2 plants instead of just one. No. Misunderstanding. First because you don't get the equivalent of 2/3 production, more like half. But it does allow you to get 1/2 the production of 2 different varieties in the same amount of space. See the difference? If you plant 2 plants of the same variety then you gain nothing. So it is your choice - prune and lose production or don't prune and plant less plants but get full production - but you can't have both. k3c4forlife - does that answer your questions? Dave...See MoreSeveral Unrelated Questions (well, all are tomato related)
Comments (8)I can share a sure-fire solution to your irrigation problems. Years ago someone here accused me of being a dealer and having an ulterior motive behind recommending this little system. I sold hundreds of these but, I installed them. Never in all my years before retiring did I sell just the equipment. We installed irrigation systems. But, I'm now retired and cannot be accused of WORK anymore. At first, the stuff seems sorta Mickey-Mouse simple. Well, it's this simplicity that is what I think makes it work so well, for so many years. You start with 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch black poly tubing. One end connects to your spigot, the other end is "kinked off". Then you plug 1/4-inch spaghetti tubing into the larger tubing wherever you want to water a plant. At the ends of the spaghetti tubing you can choose from a multitude of "spray heads" to "emitters". I like emitters mainly for the very small volume of water they use and, because they don't water all-over the garden. They provide water right at the root zone and, deprive water to weeds. I use 2 emitters for a large plant like tomatoes. One of the heads that actually sprays outward in an "umbrella pattern" is called a "spectrum". It comes on either a 5-inch stake or, can be mounted higher. The spectrum types do wet the foliage though. There are some of these little systems still working fine, that I installed 25 years ago! I never had a customer who after using this "micro" system, had me remove it, not one. I have replaced hundreds of soaker hoses though. Check out Drip Works. I'm in Louisiana, they're in California, no connection. Our municipal water contains lots of calcium from the lime they add to the Mississippi River water we drink. This calcium plugs-up soaker hose rapidly, to the point where only a few spots emit water and everything else goes dry....See MoreRooting Tomato Cuttings Now For Spring Planting?
Comments (8)LOL-LOL Lo-la ;-) ... Don't read too much into my zone. If I had a good clear 180 degree horizon facing south I could grow all I wanted inside since I have a minimum of 10 1/4 hours of light (on the Winter Solstice). The reason for growing inside is because plants need to be protected from the pests and diseases outside, both above and below the ground, which thrive in my Zone 9 and the seedlings/rootings wouldn't stand a chance. Let me suggest a possible plan to do what you want: Root a few cuttings as you normally successfully would. Put it in a bright light environment *as soon as* it has some roots (a full days' rest is good if transferring from water to soil), and then allow it to grow as normal. When it reaches an unmanageable size for indoors, take the main growing meristem (a.k.a. “main stem growing tip”) and any "axillary side shoots" (a.k. *ugh* a. "suckers") if your cutting grew to support making any larger ones. Do not prune it until then. At that point repeat the whole thing. That way, you are on your second generation, it is no big deal and actually fun to watch and you will have vigorous plants with sufficient light. A 17-20W CF bulb in a 12” round (diameter) reflector is perfect for me to do this experiment successfully. If you have seeds, just starting them indoors a month earlier would seem to be less fuss, and more manageable. There are benefits either way. Seeds provide mostly disease free plants. Well made cutting plants can be ready to flower and if they have been given sufficient light, be very well developed and hit the season running, and feed the urge like green Mistletoe in winter snow. The quality of light depends on how much you spend. I can’t justify the expense for high power substantial setups nor their continued power consumption. For growing, I use “daylight” fluorescent bulbs and don't bother with longer wavelength bulbs / lower Kelvin rated temperature bulbs at all. Any commercial 5000 K to 6500 K bulb is fine by me and the best deal is a dual bulb shop light from Walmart with 4 foot long bulbs if you have a lot or bright compact fluorescent bulbs in reflectors if just a few for fun. The markup when buying anything else fluorescent is usually horrendous, except for packs of CF bulbs. Depending on your set up, you could have more success with germinating seedlings with a combination daylight and low temp bulb, but I would not do that for cuttings, no, no. For seedlings, yes. For cuttings you want the bulb one inch above the leaves. Careful, tomato plants are really stupid. If the leaf is long enough, it will raise itself right up to the bulb and press its nose and lips against it and dry out and dies after less than an hour of that. Unlike human children, tomatoes don't learn not to touch the hot stove after the first time. Hope this helps. If it is any encouragement, I have actually done it, and I am very happy I did, though damping off frustrated me a little. But I will be using seeds for next season, since I already took the ride and need a break … and have other tomatoes growing if all goes nicely, till past Christmas, since my first freeze is Christmas Eve on average. Hope that helps and let us know how it goes. Good Luck! PC...See MoreNick
5 years agofunkyhat
5 years agoMokinu
5 years agofunkyhat
5 years agofunkyhat
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agogorbelly
4 years ago
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funkyhatOriginal Author