[Snoop]

It's blazing hot here (7.30 pm and 35ºC in the shade) and blowing a gale and I've just been out to give my single Sungold cherry tomato plant in a pot its third drink of the day. I couldn't help but admire the number of flower clusters it has on it.

I've never limited the number of trusses on my tomato plants so far, but I'm going to do so on some 'hanging tomato' plants. These are plants you grow in the ground like ordinary tomatoes and then pick the little bunches and tie them on to string and hang them somewhere frostfree so you can have home-grown toms for breakfast in the winter.

I've seen all kinds of recommendations on the number of trusses to be left. How many do you leave?

[mumofstig]

How long is a piece of string

Seriously I leave them all on and then towards the end summer, I remove any that I don't think will ripen in time  ....I hope that makes sense....but it all depends on the weather how many will ripen in time

I am going to try those next year............will be good if we have a summer like this year...if not they may not work as well...I can but try

[rhysdad]

I've left four. Others will say five!! I guess it depends how many plants you have, how late they were getting started and how much you like tomatoes! I have 11 plants this year and a quick rough count means i'll have around 400/450 of them soon!!!  

[DavidT]

I agree with Lesley, leave them all on. As long as they are being fed and watered they will be fine. Commercial growers don`t say , we have 5 trusses, stop the plants. they keep them growing and fruiting.

[solway cropper]

I normally stop them at 5 but I'm quite a long way north and find that any more and they just produce pea-sized toms. It seems sensible to me to have the plant putting its energy into ripening decent size fruit rather than producing more and more.

[Salmo]

The only reason to stop tomatoe plants is when trusses have no chance of ripening in the Autumn. I do not imagine that this is a problem in Spain so leave the plants to grow.

Tell us how many trusses ripen and when you pick the last ones. We will not be jealous 

[Terrier]

I don't worry about them ripening, I'm more interested in healthy plants growing good size fruits. If the plant is too immature it will produce small unusable fruits if too many trusses form. A strong plant will produce more good trusses and, at the end of the season, they can be either used green or stored 'on the vine' in a dry place and will slowly ripen.

[greenun]

Leave them all on. This protects the fruit from the direct exposure to the sun.
The sun will cook 'em. tomatoes need warmth not heat.

[viettaclark]

My toms didn't start trussing until they were quite tall and they have now reached the top of their 6' sticks with 5 trusses so I've been stopping them.
I've had blight for the last 2 years and find I can save more if they're mature enough to ripen on the window sill.

[Kristen]

I take a different view. I've never understood the "N trusses" approach - my Garndeners Delight start producing trusses earlier, and make more during the season, that my larger-fruited varieties.

I "stop" my Tomato plants one month before 1st Frost is expected. That gives enough time for most of the fruit to ripen. By that time they will be trying to get out of the greenhouse vents! so others say "Stop them when they hit the roof" (I lower mine a bit so they can grow a bit longer).

Dunno how my "one month before 1st Frost" translates in Spain?! Perhaps "A month before last intended/expected harvest"?

[Snoop]

Thanks for all the answers - they were very useful. I'll just let them do their thang then!

I think I'll take Kristen's approach. Makes sense. Where I am, first frosts are any time from mid October onwards. Elsewhere in Spain, they never get frosts. But I like having distinctive seasons and love the winters here, despite the perishing cold nights.

Mumofstig, I'm sure your hanging toms will work well. In fact, you pick them just slightly under-ripe, so I imagine they'll be perfect. Miles better than supermarket toms for breakfast though too thick-skinned for eating in salads. They won't look all that great till you cook them, at which point they go into this amazing transformation and become the brightest red and sweetest toms you'll eat all winter. I have no idea how I've managed to live so long and never come across them before!

Salmo, so far I've got about 30 trusses on the Sungold, some of which have ripened  and been scoffed, some of which are still tiny green toms, and some of which are still at the flower stage. It's my only plant in a pot, which I've put somewhere just slightly warmer than down in the fields to extend the season by an extra week or so. I reckon it's got a way to go before it gives up making new trusses. The one I had like this last year got a very peculiar supporting structure that looked like weird scaffolding made out of rebar and canes. It produced masses of toms.

[viettaclark]

30 trusses!!!!

[Snoop]

30 trusses!!!!

I know, ridiculous isn't it?!

I grew four Sungolds last year, all of them in pots. At first, I wasn't very impressed because I picked the toms when they were what I thought was the right colour, but they were still too sharp. I left them longer and they proved to be absolutely delicious. All the plants were prolific, which I guess is typical of cherry toms, and absolutely loads went to waste.

This year I've only got one Sungold, as well as other tom plants. I think this one Sungold is going to be enough. It gets plenty of water and feed, though you can't buy specialist tomato fertiliser here. It gets some shade during the afternoon, but also has to cope with strong winds, especially in the afternoon. Hence the need for a sturdy supporting structure. I should also say that apart from the bottom 20 cm or so, I let pretty well all the side shoots grow. All in all, a bit unconventional, but the treatment seems to work.

[greenun]

When you see a shoot in the joint of two main branches nip it out and pot it up. -new tomato plant.

[viettaclark]

I've got tomato plants coming out of my ears (not literally) so I don't need to propagate!!!
As well as 10 tumblers in baskets and 24 assorted cordons and bushes which are all doing well, I've now got a forest of them growing everywhere I've used my compost!! (which is just about everywhere)
Tomato seeds are tough little blighters aren't they?