[JL]

Help and advice please.
Somewhere I have read about limiting tomato trusses to about 4 or 5.
My problem, is where and when on the main stem do I start.
Any advice will be much appreciated, thanks

[mumofstig]

The group of flowers on a stem is called a truss, unless you have a tall greenhouse, and heat towards the end of the year, it is very difficult to have plants that can grow and harvest more than 4 trusses.

Some people (I'm one) just let the plants carry on growing until the weather stops them. Others think that you should cut the tops of the plants after 4 lots of trusses have set fruits.

[Mr Dog]

I'm in the MoS camp and almost just let them get on with it - I pinch out side shoots till the beginning of August and then stop, allowing the top of the plant to become bushier (although I do remove plenty of leaves to let light in). I train the leader along wire/string up the greenhouse roof and the only time I nip out the tip is if a plant reaches the apex. Although I've never done a 'scientific' comparison of my and the recommended methods gut feel is that I get a much bigger yield (certainly in terms of number) of ripe fruits, not to mention plenty of green ones for chutneys etc.

[Growster...]

Toms really need more light than heat in the summer.

If they all grow tall and clog out the light at the top of the greenhouse, they're not doing the others lower down any favours.

We go to five trusses (maybe just six if there's a gap and enough light), but it also take a lot of leaf-trimming to maintain light for the lowest trusses.

Outside toms don't have the same restrictions, and a max of five trusses is probably the norm, with four - even three - being very good, especially with types like Marmande which are very heavy, and large!

[New shoot]

I try and keep the greenhouse ones under control.  As Growster says, if they get too tall and block all the light, it affects the fruit lower down.

I grow beefsteak ones, so small fruit set late are a bit of a waste of time.  If you have cherry or small sized toms, it is worth keeping the trusses at the top of the plant if you can, as they will likely ripen before the weather puts a stop to the season.  I certainly let the cherry bush toms in the greenhouse grow as big as they like for as long as they want