![]() Hi Jennifer, I’ve never found pruning necessary for my tomato plants no matter how heavy the crop the stems seem to handle as much weight as the tomato cares to deliver. I also try not to water the leaves of the tomato vines. The links share some resistant tomato varieties and I rotate crops religiously and never plant tomatoes in the same place or where potatoes once were. Ohio State University Extension has a good fact sheet on it: Īnd as if that’s not enough, you may have Fusarium Wilt (related link ) or Verticillium Wilt (related link, Some things would do okay under the tree and other plants had nothing to do with my poor site choice and suffered because of it.Īpparently the roots, leaves and husks in the black walnut release a chemical called juglone that affects growth on certain plants. At my last house in Seattle, I had a black walnut tree on my property. Hi Nancy, sounds like the dreaded walnut wilt which is prone to areas around black walnuts trees more so than the English type (the nuts found in oatmeal cookies). Here are few links to other gardeners who agree with just leaving the poor little suckers–the tomato suckers–alone: Now that I’ve spared you one more thing to do on the chore list, take a break in shade (ice tea optional) before you get back to your weeding. (And as you can see from the photos, I surely need to attend to mine.) I trellis my tomatoes don’t get me started on cages. Why? Because they are concentrating their energy on producing fruit for your next Salad Nicoise. Another thing I’ve observed is that if you leave the tomato plant’s side shoots alone, they mainly appear from the base of the plant, and not such much on new growth as the season continues. People who grow dahlias know to pinch the lead growth so as to produce more suckers and thus more flowers. I would not pinch the lead stem for a tomato plant, as the suckers automatically show up. One of the many suckers that became a robust tomato-producing branch ![]() Leaves harness the sun’s power, sails the wind’s. Don’t short yourself on either. You want it to grow and glean as much energy from the sun to produce sugars for the star feature of your next BLT or caprese salad. I liken it to removing sails from a sloop and wondering why it doesn’t move as fast. Healthy row of un-pinched heirloom tomatoes (one tomatillo in foreground)Ī tomato plant is not a bonsai tree. If you want just one big tomato at the end of the season, then I’d say go for it. But In my experience, it’s a big ol’ waste of time that diminishes your harvest. I ‘ve been growing tomatoes since I could say spaghetti sauce, and I’ve found that pinching the suckers is something every garden resource seems to preach as the gospel–a dire must-do when growing tomatoes. Garden myth: you should pinch tomatoes suckers (the growth between main stems and the leaf) for a better tomato crop. Step away from the tomato plant and no one gets hurt. Pinching tomato suckers: not on my garden to-do list
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