How To Pinch Tomatoes Correctly In A Greenhouse And Open Ground (video, Photo, Diagram), Which Varieties Do Not Require Pinning

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Instructions for the correct pinching of tomatoes

Gardening concerns begin. The owners of summer cottages are engaged in seedling vegetable crops, and it's time to think about how much we know about the proper care of plants from which we expect a bountiful harvest? Today we will talk about how to pinch tomatoes, and why you need to do it.

Content

• 1 What is pinning and what is it for
• 2 Which variety should you choose?
• 3 When to do pinching of tomatoes grown in the open field
• 4 Correctly pluck determinant varieties and hybrids
• 5 Tomato varieties that do not require pinching
• 6 Tomatoes in the greenhouse: proper treatment of the stems
• 7 Video on the correct pinching of tomatoes

What is pinning and what is it for

Grasshopping is the removal of excess shoots from plants. The tomato bush tends to grow upward and in breadth, and because of this, the root system works to supply the tops with nutrients, instead of paying all attention to the fruits. Therefore, some shoots are separated at a certain moment in order to correctly and effectively distribute the plastic substances of the plant between the tomatoes and the leaves that protect them.

Stepsons should be removed when they are still small, from 3 to 5 cm. Do not skip this period, because:

• an overgrown stepson means that the bush has already spent useful substances on its growth;
• after removing the overgrowth, a large wound will remain on the stem.

Tomatoes do not need to be pinned. But in this case, a good harvest will depend not only on proper care, but also on external conditions, and especially on the variety. The bushes will grow rapidly, the branches will be pulled out from each sinus and become new stems. Those, in turn, will give new shoots. A large tomato bush rich in greens does not guarantee a large harvest of fruits, more often the opposite.

So that the bush does not grow in breadth and upward, stepchildren should be removed

The need for pinching depends on the tomato variety. For example, indeterminate varieties such as Shaman F1, tall and able to grow indefinitely, branch very strongly. Determinant and hybrid varieties that do not stretch upwards can also produce many stems (Lyalafa F1, Blagovest F1).

The green mass of the plants will decrease slightly after the fruits appear on the first inflorescences. But they will pour slowly, since new flowers and an ovary of a couple of dozen tomatoes have already appeared on the bush, which need nutrition. A high yield can be achieved, but the fruits will not grow to the desired size, and it will take longer to wait for them to ripen.

Which variety should you choose?

In our latitudes, gardeners rarely give preference to indeterminate, or tall varieties, choosing mostly undersized ones. This can be attributed to the fear of not being able to cope with growing large bushes. However, when handled well, tall varieties are much more productive. Their advantages include the following points:

• such varieties have a high yield;
• when following agrotechnical rules, they are less susceptible to late blight disease;
• the fruiting period stretches from mid-summer to mid-autumn, despite the fact that the maturation of low-growing varieties is almost simultaneous, and this is inconvenient for fresh consumption;
• tall varieties are easier to pinch;
• it is easy to work with such bushes, it is easy to harvest from them without bending over;
• the most interesting of the new varieties are the tall ones.

Yes, indeterminate varieties need to be pinned. Among the disadvantages is that in addition to the usual care, such a bush will definitely need an appropriate support and frequent garter. But taking into account the final result - a larger yield - you can simply not pay attention to this feature of growing tomatoes.

Indeterminate tomato varieties yield good yields

Returning to the question of whether it is necessary to pinch tomatoes, I personally say an unequivocal "Yes". It is a mistake to assume that a large green bush will produce many fruits. There can be two options here: either you are greening the site, or you are striving for a harvest, and this applies to all vegetable crops. A good result depends on adequate, properly distributed power and lighting.

When to do pinching of tomatoes grown in the open field

The term, very important for every gardener who grows tomatoes in the open field, is August 1. By this time, only fruits that have set before this date grow and ripen on the bush. The shoots and inflorescences that have arisen later will waste nutrients that are needed for the growth and ripening of almost finished tomatoes. To prevent this from happening, you need to get rid of excess sprouts.

Grasshopping is carried out once for the entire period of development of the bush. In the last days of July and at the beginning of August, all stepson shoots are removed on each plant, 2-3 leaves are left over the set fruits and the growth points on the productive shoots are pinched. Of course, it's a pity to pluck the inflorescences that have just appeared, but this is a necessary measure: this way you will save large shoots.

Tomato pickling in the open field

Another way is to remove excess shoots every 10 days. Wherein:

• if the bush is formed into one stem, then only the main shoot is preserved;
• if in two, then a stepson is added to the main shoot from the axil of the leaf under the first inflorescence;
• if in three, the next stepson from below is also added.

First of all, decide how many stems you want to keep on the plant. This may depend directly on the variety of tomatoes.

1. If you want to get a high and, most importantly, an early harvest from undersized superdeterminate varieties, then you need 1-2 stems. In this case, the fruits will ripen on the first 3-5 inflorescences, while 3 inflorescences will form on each stem.
2. If you keep 3 stalks, then the number of tomatoes will be much higher, but there will be a lot of green fruit. Inflorescences will develop almost simultaneously, but maturation will slow down.

We pluck determinant varieties and hybrids correctly

To get an early harvest on determinant and hybrid varieties, which have more inflorescences on the main stem, you need to leave one stem and 2-3 inflorescences. Save a few leaves after the last inflorescence and pinch the growing point. It is not necessary to do this, but in this case, the fruits on all inflorescences may not fully ripen.

If you leave 2 stems with 4 to 8 inflorescences on them, then the tomatoes will ripen on the bush. Determinant and hybrid varieties do not form 3 stems.

Proper care and timely pinching will give you a good harvest of fruits.

If your tomato bush consists of 1-2 stems with 2-4 inflorescences, then the fruits will appear by mid-July. This is almost 2 weeks earlier than if you did not pinch. With this planting pattern, you will get fewer fruits, but there will be more tomatoes ripening on the branch.

It is known that tomato is a thermophilic plant, and our latitudes are not always pampered by long hot summers. Therefore, the breeders took care of breeding varieties that will bring a good harvest in the open field without pinching. These varieties include:

• Watermelon;
• Alaska;
• Banana red;
• White filling 241;
• Betta;
• Boney MM;
• Gavroche;
• Rocket;
• Yamal.

Most of the harvest of these tomatoes ripens in a short summer. The number of fruits on the bushes depends on the weather conditions - the more warm sunny days, the better.

Tomato varieties that do not require pinching

Tomatoes in the greenhouse: proper processing of the stems

In conditions of growth in a greenhouse, the purpose of pinching is to increase the duration of fruiting and obtain higher yields per unit area. Use determinant varieties to shorten the ripening period. If you can grow tomatoes for a long time, from 4 to 5 months, you can take semi-determinant varieties that stop growing after 8-10 inflorescences are formed on the main stem, or indeterminate ones.

In determinant varieties, 1 stem should be left, and under the first inflorescence - a continuation shoot. When a pair of inflorescences and leaves forms on it, you need to pinch it.

If you grow these varieties in 1 stem for 4-5 months, the bush will stop growing by this time without stepchildren. Therefore, you need to leave a reserve shoot from the leaf axil, which is located under 2-3 inflorescences from the top. After that, pay attention to whether the breeding shoot is growing. If so, remove it and keep the next one closer to the top.

To prevent the condition of tomato bushes in the greenhouse from deteriorating, they need to be pinned at least once a week.

Greenhouse tomatoes

When forming medium and tall tomatoes, it is not necessary to leave a reserve shoot: the appearance of inflorescences on the bushes of these varieties does not limit growth. But this does not mean that you do not need to spend time and effort on undersized tomatoes, since they ripen faster and produce more tomatoes.

The less time is spent on growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, fewer inflorescences will give the main stem, which means that the bushes can be planted denser.

Do not forget that stepchildren need to be broken out, and not pulled out or plucked out. A small stump 1-2 cm long should remain, this will slow down the appearance of the stepson in the treated area.

Video about the correct pinching of tomatoes

We hope that our article will help you grow great and mouth-watering tomatoes and take proper care of them. Let us know in the comments about your pinning experience and any questions you might have. A rich harvest!