[jambop]

Last year I bought a tomato plant at the local market and I am sure the seller told me not to take the side shoots out. I saved some of the seeds for this year its an old variety and I cannot remember the name. Thing I want to know is should I side shoot it or not? Is there any way of telling by looking whether you should remove the side shoots or not ? Last year was a very bad year in the garden here I last a lot of my tomatoes because of the rain and this tomato was good for cooking and making sauces that is why I kept some seed only I cannot remember if I side shooted it last year. Any help would be most welcome ! I have twenty of them planted out for making coulis !

[mumofstig]

can you remember if you grew it up a cane? or how tall it grew?

[jambop]

It was a bad year I think they made three feet though. They do seem to be a little bit smaller than my other plants but still have the small side shoots at the joint leaf and the stems.

[mumofstig]

It sounds as if they are a bush variety, doesn't it 

I'd leave them alone, to get on with it, and be ready with lots of canes/sticks if they need support later on.

[Headgardener22]

How long was the season for the tomatoes? If its a bush variety, then they probably all ripened within a couple of weeks.

It could be a semi-determinate but I agree that I would not take off the sideshoots, grow it as a bush or in a cage if it gets big.