[Pep]

Hi  ,

Last year I grew lots of cherry tomatoes and, although we had a bumper crop, that part of the garden looked like an out of control jungle  .  My neighbours' plants were very neat and upright.  I tied them to poles but there were just too many branches and had to chop a lot of them off thereby losing many tomatoes.  To avoid doing the same this year, would someone tell me please what to do when the plants are at this stage?  What do I remove and what do I keep?



Thanks in advance for any advice  .

Pauline

[mumofstig]

If you follow the advice  here you will have one straight stem.

You could probably allow your plants to grow higher than we do, with your good summers

[tam]

There is more than one type - some grow like a bush and some like a tree

If you are growing a tree just pinch off all the sideshoots that grow out from the trunk, just above each leaf.

[Pep]

Excellent advice and link, thank you very much.  You've put my mind at rest  . 

Pauline

[Kristen]

Looks like a very healthy plant to me

At that size I would be wanting to pot it on to a 4.5" or 5" pot, and then a couple of weeks later to to the next size up - somewhere between 6" and 9" - and then it can go into the final pot, growbag or soil a few weeks after that when the roots have again started to fill the pot.

[Pep]

Hi Kristen,

Thanks very much for your advice, it really is appreciated. 

If I was in UK I would follow it but being here in Bulgaria it's impossible, unless I want to drive over 100 kms to see if "Mr. Bricolase" has some plant pots for sale.

I'm, afraid it's a case of getting them started and then out in the garden to take their chances.  It seems to work for the locals so why not me?

My problem was them looking such a mess, even though we had loads of tomatoes from them.

I'll pass your advice on to my son who is still in UK and trying to raise a few tomatoes himself.

Thanks again.

Pauline   

[tam]

If you are short on pots there are lots of reusable things you can use instead eg if you get milk in cartons - chop the top off to create a 'pot', you can even just use a normal plastic bag filled with soil/compost

[Pep]

Hi Tam,

I tend to buy coffee machine beakers for both veg and flowers as well as saving margarine tubs, yoghurt cartons etc.  I must admit I never thought of using ordinary plastic bags though.  Thank you for that. 

Compost is a problem this year, as in none is available and to make your own is frowned upon as it attracts snakes, apparently.

It's all new to me out here, but I'm getting there.  The soil, although pretty heavy, mixed with sand from the local river is acceptable and help from people from this site is invaluable:)

Pauline

[tam]

Snakes! I think that might give me second thoughts on making compost too.

How about a wormery? I don't know too much about them but I sure someone here will. I think they can be done on a smaller scale in a closed container then you use the 'water' that leaks out as fertilizer mixed in with normal soil.

[gillie]

It is fairly easy to discover whether you have 'tree' tomatoes or bush ones.

Wait until they start to show buds.  If the stem goes on growing above the flower truss  you have a 'tree'.  If it stops but there are shoots below it is a bush.

De shoot the 'trees'.  But never take a shoot off until you can see the 'trunk' is growing away.

Gillie