[DD.]

Trusses are the stalks that the young tomatoes hang off!

[Wildeone]

What are you refering to when you speak of trusses, and don't you have a problem with sun scald when you remove your leaves?  Here I need the leaves to cast some shade on the tomatoes or they will sun scald.

Sun scald?!?!?!?!?!? - maybe once every 25 years would that be a problem for us in England!  :roll:

[FCG]

25 years?

you mean it actually happens?
Amazing.

[Wildeone]

25 years?

you mean it actually happens?
Amazing.

[gobs]

Well, it does. Also a lot of things with toms  can go wrong from heat and sun light, greenback, ring spot...

[JudyAnn]

Yes, it actually happens here.  How high do your summer temps get there?  July and August will bring temps in the high 90*F to in the 100*s
F here.  If I were to remove my tomato leaves the tomatoes would discolor (usually forming a round spot) and would end up spoiling.  Doesn't bother the cherry tomatoes that much though.  Therefore we don't remove leaves--side shoots yes, and occasionally nip the top if they are getting too tall.

[DD.]

We occassionally get into the 90's & then the country grinds to a halt as though it's the first time it's happened.

Roads melt, train tracks buckle, power lines sag too much......

We also come to a standstill in a severe winter when we get an inch of snow.

[muntjac]

remove the leaves bellow the first truss when the fruit has set this is to prevent you splashing soil up on them and blight etc can be carried on the soil ....

[Noah'strolly]

I think as it grows the lower leaves are not so important. I saw on tv a professional greenhouse tomato bloke saying that as toms grow higher the lower leaves die off as they are taking the nutrients out of them to fuel growth. His toms had grown so high you'd need a laddder to reach the top!

[SkipRat]

If my toms have a load of big leaf growth as they do sometimes, I remove some of the lower leaves to let more light in, and I know someone on here said about planting the side shoots to make new plants, and I actually tried that last year and it grew and produced more toms, but I can't see the plant producing more toms if you remove the leaves.

Mind you, I haven't tried it, so could be wrong!!!

First time that i heard that planting a side shoot will produce another plant GA, I,ll give that a go out of curiosity, did you just plant it in a pot, filled with tom compost and  maybe some rooting powder on the cutting?

[gobs]

If my toms have a load of big leaf growth as they do sometimes, I remove some of the lower leaves to let more light in, and I know someone on here said about planting the side shoots to make new plants, and I actually tried that last year and it grew and produced more toms, but I can't see the plant producing more toms if you remove the leaves.

Mind you, I haven't tried it, so could be wrong!!!

First time that i heard that planting a side shoot will produce another plant GA, I,ll give that a go out of curiosity, did you just plant it in a pot, filled with tom compost and  maybe some rooting powder on the cutting?

I'm not Grannie, but you don't need any rooting powder they just root like crazy. That's what is commonly used for over-winter toms in conservatory, started off end summer.