ANSWER: You can prevent your tomatoes from growing too tall by pruning them. Pruning also encourages the plant to grow fruits instead of creating more foliage. Always use clean, sterilized shears when you prune to avoid spreading disease in your garden. Prune so that leaves do not throw shade onto other leaves, but do not prune away the leaves that shade flowers or clusters of fruit, as the shade will protect them from the heat.
Once a plant is the same height as its support mechanism (which is usually four or five feet), prune it regularly to remove all the new growth at the top and keep the plant a manageable size. You may also wish to prune away the “suckers” that grow from the bend where a branch meets the main stem, which will make fruits larger but can reduce the number of overall fruits produced.
Plants are usually ready to prune once they reach 12 to 18 inches in height. Photo by Julie Martens Forney. To do the Missouri pruning technique on suckers, pinch off the growing tip, leaving only the two lowest leaves.
Plants are usually ready to prune once they reach 12 to 18 inches in height. Photo by Julie Martens Forney. To do the Missouri pruning technique on suckers, pinch off the growing tip, leaving only the two lowest leaves.
Topping tomatoes simply means cutting the top off. Remember that indeterminate tomatoes will continue to grow and produce fruit if you keep them healthy and supply them with support. That is true unless you cut the tops off because tomatoes grow and develop new leaves from the top.
If you plant your tomatoes into a raised bed filled with coco coir, perlite, and other nutrient-poor materials, the plants will soon become stunted and show other signs of nutrient deficiencies. These same symptoms can occur when growing seedlings in pots and raising tomato plants in native soil.
Using a single pole or stake to support the main stem is the best way to keep these plants upright, maintain airflow, and allow for easy access when harvesting. A piece of rebar, a metal stake, or a strong pole will work as vertical support.
Aim to prune plants when the suckers are between 2 and 4 inches long. Determinate tomato plants (those that reach 4 feet tall or so and stop growing) only need to be pruned once. Indeterminate tomatoes can be pruned every couple of weeks as they continue to produce new leaves.
When tomato seeds are sown too early, they will often become tall and spindly, or 'leggy' as we refer to them. This is where they reach up to the sky to try and get light. As soon as the weather starts to improve, many of us become very keen and sow seeds before they should be sown.
By burying the stem, using support, pruning, providing adequate light, and proper watering, you can help your leggy tomato seedlings recover and become healthy plants.
Even when daytime temperatures reach the 80s and 90s, tomatoes can still experience temperature-related stress. That's because sudden swings in temperature shock the tomato plants' systems, resulting in stunted growth.
Introduction: My name is Msgr. Refugio Daniel, I am a fine, precious, encouraging, calm, glamorous, vivacious, friendly person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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