[Kleftiwallah]

Is there any way in which to induce tomato plants to produce more trusses (trusses closer together) and hence more fruit per plant ?  :blush:Cheers, Tony.

[Nikkithefoot]

Not that I'm aware of, except for the obvious plenty of light for sturdier plants to stop them getting leggy.

Have you considered different varieties that produce more fruit per truss such as Ildi? Many tens of small yellow plum toms per truss. Quite flavoursome as well. I find 3 of these plants (along with other varieties) keep us in tomatoes for the season. They also have kept cropping for me until late November in an unheated greenhouse, subject to severe frosts of course.

[Kleftiwallah]

Can't stand piddly little toms !   The light issue is organised, Sun from sun up to sun down.

There was a theory put forward that you encourage a side shoot and then cut off the main growth, when a second side shoot has grown,  repeat the operation.  I havn't tried this - yet.    Cheers,    Tony.

[JayG]

Having grown Sweet Million as a bush rather than a cordon last year (didn't do my homework properly!  ) I can confirm that you get a lot of trusses, but they didn't all set equally well and there is no way of knowing what the yield would have been if grown "properly".   :

There's got to be a good chance that something is going to suffer - flavour, size, time to ripening, but I guess that if the plants are vigorous there's nothing to stop you allowing one side-shoot to develop and seeing what happens.

Can't help thinking that if the technique you mention (or any other) was a sure-fire winner, with no drawbacks, that we'd all be doing it by now. 

[mumofstig]

If you have strong growing plants it may be worth trying the strongest as a double cordon.

Let one bottom sideshoot grow so that you have 2 stems, and train each up a cane

They'll obviously need a lot of feeding and watering though 

[Kleftiwallah]

I tried the 'double cordon' idea the year before last and layered the stems down to encourage the auxiliary roots.   More trusses, but no more than what you would end up with with two separate plants.       Might try growing at 45 degrees !     Cheers,     Tony.

[mumofstig]

I tried the 'double cordon' idea the year before last and layered the stems down to encourage the auxiliary roots.   More trusses, but no more than what you would end up with with two separate plants.       Might try growing at 45 degrees !     Cheers,     Tony.

but at least you got 2 plants worth of trusses from one plant ...............what are you trying for .......
blood from a stone 

[Trillium]

Sounds like you'll need to plant your tom seedlings deeper as well as at a 90 degree angle. As you cover it with soil, gently bend the top stem part straighter, lightly press in soil around this. In a day or two the stem will right itself and you'll get more stems growing out of the bent base.

Also, do not pinch off suckers. I've tried both ways and find the fruit size is always the same. Now, in order to get more fruit per plant, I simply let the suckers come and make sure I tie them onto stakes. But you do reach a point where you need to pinch off a few so the fruits can eventually see daylight. Once the first fruits start, I begin to weekly pinch off plant leaves below the flower stems. This way more energy goes to the fruit rather than a tangle of leaves.

And definitely choose an indeterminate variety of toms. This won't work for determinates.

[Chrysalis]

Please, Trillium, what's a determinate and indeterminate tomato?  Sounds like one or two which can and can't make up their minds?

We've just sown six vareties of toms for our new greenhouse and I'm really lookng forward to greater success this year, but seem to find all this chat of trusses and determinates confusing (if not norty !)

[DD.]

In simple terms "indeterminate" is a cordon, or straight up and down tomato that you remove side shoots from, "determinate" is a bush type that you leave to do its own thing.

[Totty]

Rather than trying to force a plant to generate sideshoots to grow as  a sort of second plant for more fruit, why not just plant them earlier, and grow them higher to get more trusses. Last year our plants grew 7 full trusses. This year i reckon 8 is feasable as we have a higher greenhouse.

[gremlin]

I am wrestling  a similar problem for the last few years when my seed grown cordon toms always miss out the first truss. The last few years the first truss was nearly 4ft above the ground.  (about 6 pairs of healthy green leaves up) I have experimented with keeping them cool (10 degrees C) and well lit.  Never got the trick to work of keeping them pot bound in their 3" pot until the first truss flowers have opened. They grow to 18",  then look sick and die without flowers.

Just found a new clue in an 1970 commercial greenhouse book that it may be due too much nitrogen.  So this year the 6" high plants will go into their rings in JI No 1, not No 3, and I will catch up with feed later.

Don't know if that might help the original poster

[DD.]

I just use cheap growbag compost in pots, not expensive John Innes. Never had a problem with high up trusses.

[Auntiemogs]

If it's a heavy crop you're after Klefti, there was a thread on here a short while back about grafting toms. Some intersting vids on Youtube too...

[lacewing]

I always keep the compost on the dry side, from seedling stage to final planting. By doing this I end up with short sturdy plants, ready to produce the first truss at final planting time.  The plant will then switch it's enegry from making roots to producing flower trusses.  From that point on, it's full steam ahead with high potash feed and water.