Tomatoe help

sam 4/19/2010, 9:49 pm

New to SFG....petrified about cutting ALL side shoots and suckers and just leaving the main stem. I need someone to tell me this really works and what to do or not do.

ColoradoNatureGirl 4/19/2010, 10:02 pm

Ditto! I am nervous about doing that as well. It would really help to have some more instructions or hear from someone else's experience that it really does work.

sam 4/19/2010, 10:06 pm

I just spent about $1000 for soil and beds, etc. Been staging and getting ready to plant, now I'm freaking that I'll never get a tomatoe to grow.

Wyldflower 4/19/2010, 10:11 pm

I'm nervous about it too... but there are some great posts (with pictures) about pruning tomatoes... check this topic: Pruning Tomatoes

Hey Alan? Steve? Ward? Claire? Martha? Anyone want to consider doing a tomato tutorial in the Hosted Chat sometime soon? (I'm looking forward to Belinda's chat tomorrow about opportunities for SFG instructors)

sam 4/19/2010, 10:14 pm

Thanks for jumping in. Im new to this forum thing, but I know the answers will come. Im concerned this could become addicting

Toastie 4/19/2010, 10:16 pm

So I should trim them up to the first yellow flowers, mine just started sprouting, then a storm knocked them off
How much bare stem is there from the bottom cluster to the ground, can I build up some dirt around it to see if I can get stronger roots

Wyldflower 4/19/2010, 10:18 pm

sam wrote:Thanks for jumping in. Im new to this forum thing, but I know the answers will come. Im concerned this could become addicting

Hi Sam, and welcome.... there's a thread for this, too: SFG Addiction

Toastie... if you lost all the leaves and flower stems at the bottom, I think it would be wise to build up around the stem as you suggest... all those little hairs can develop into more roots.

boffer 4/19/2010, 10:30 pm

Wyldflower wrote:

Hey Alan? Steve? Ward? Claire? Martha? Anyone want to consider doing a tomato tutorial in the Hosted Chat sometime soon?

I'm game. We just have to find a tomato expert!

chocolatepop 4/19/2010, 10:47 pm

certainly no expert, But I did prune last year. I took many side shoots and most suckers off (vining). I posted a pic of some sites i found last year and how I did it.

Toasty, yeah I would just mound more soil up around the bare stem to encourage additional root development.

jjphoto 4/19/2010, 10:53 pm

I'd never done the tomatoes this way until reading the SFG book. I
grabbed two tomato plants a month ago or so and put them in the SFG. I
stripped them of everything and planted them in the SFG on their side.

I was skeptical as well, but after a couple of weeks a very bad cold snap came along (22 degrees) and burned them. I pulled them out of the SFG and looked at the stem... and whaddya know they were putting out roots all along there. I'm sold on this method now.

**camprn** 4/19/2010, 11:06 pm

I posted this in a different thread, watch the video, it's really helpful

Here is an article, with a link to video, on how to prune tomato plants. http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx
You will want to wait a while yet. Here is a photo of my friend Chris with some of his pruned tomatoes on South Valley Farm, Putney, VT
pruned tomatoes

Sponsored content

Tomatoe help

Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help

Re: Tomatoe help


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.