[Chiswickian]

I haven't pinched out the sideshoots on my toms for a while and when I went this morning I saw that the sideshoots are in fact flowering. So why would I pinch them out?
TIA

[gillie]

"So why would I pinch them out?"

To stop them growing into a tomato thicket which will be more liable to blight, so that you get more ripe tomatoes and fewer small green ones at the end of the season and so that you can easily pick the ripe ones.

Secateurs at the ready!

Cheers,

Gillie

[Chiswickian]

offf I go back to the plot this evening!!

[Noodles]

Tomatoes root really easily so if the side shoots are a decent size, just cut them carefully and stick in a pot of compost, voila you have another tomato plant! 

[scabs]

Excuse my ignorance but this late on, is it actually worth potting up the sideshoots; will they produce anything?

[Yorkie]

I don't know for sure Scabs, I took some sideshoots yesterday and put them in water in order to try this experiment too.

However, I have a feeling in my waters that I've read somewhere (that I can't remember) that as they are the same age as the 'mother' plant, they don't take too long to start fruiting etc etc.  But I could well be wrong!

[home made pie]

My Dad (who is nearly 80) told me the other day that the only reason we nip out the side shoots is so we can get at them in the greenhouse, he said I didn't really need to bother doing it to the ones outside.  I'm only in my second year growing them and have been nipping out religously, I'll be honest I had assumed it was for other reasons and that I had to do it in order to get tomatoes to form, my Dads comments did make me think and I am now wondering whether to leave the outside ones to do their own thing, has anyone left theirs to nature so to speak ?

[AdsaM]

I take all side shoots off.

And give the plants a shake morning and night, outside and in the greenhouse.

An old gardener told me to shake em every day over 35 years ago. 

Steve

[rivkele]

And give the plants a shake morning and night, outside and in the greenhouse.
An old gardener told me to shake em every day over 35 years ago. 

i've never heard of shaking them before. what does that do?

[AndyRVTR]

Shaking the plant helps pollunation as far as I know... , always done it with mine, and always fgot good results.
Just had my first 'Matina' today....mmmmmmmmmm 

[DavidT]

You only take the sideshoots off vine tomatoes. If you are growing a bush variety, leave them on. You take them off vines because you just want that single stem to keep growing and producing ad infinitum, as for leaving them on bush ones, well you want, err, bushes.