Should I pinch the flowers off tomato and pepper transplants?

NowWeAreFour 5/12/2014, 8:25 pm

Nearly all of my home-started seeds failed (PSA: Turn off the grow lights at night, and provide less--FAR less--water Embarassed

), so I ended up buying plants at our local farm. Some of them were quite large, and while they transplanted fine and are thriving now, several of them are already flowering. Our "official" plant-out date isn't really even until Thursday, so I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and remove the flowers/buds from these transplants so they can give their energy to building a good root system.

WWYD? Is it OK to let them go ahead and flower, or should I be conservative and pinch?

Thanks!

**camprn** 5/12/2014, 8:41 pm

NowWeAreFour wrote:Nearly all of my home-started seeds failed (PSA: Turn off the grow lights at night, and provide less--FAR less--water ), so I ended up buying plants at our local farm. Some of them were quite large, and while they transplanted fine and are thriving now, several of them are already flowering. Our "official" plant-out date isn't really even until Thursday, so I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and remove the flowers/buds from these transplants so they can give their energy to building a good root system.

WWYD? Is it OK to let them go ahead and flower, or should I be conservative and pinch?

Thanks!

How long have the plants been in the ground? What is your location?
WWYD... what the heck is that? thinking

**llama momma** 5/12/2014, 8:43 pm

maybe it means what would you do...I never saw that before

Jmichelle 5/12/2014, 9:01 pm

llama momma wrote:maybe it means what would you do...I never saw that before

You are correct.

NowWeAreFour 5/12/2014, 9:51 pm

camprn wrote:How long have the plants been in the ground? What is your location?
WWYD... what the heck is that?

Oh, sorry! I planted them on the 6th, and I'm in NJ (zone 6B, I think).

And yes, it meant "What would you do?" Smile

Marc Iverson 5/13/2014, 12:19 am

I'd be more likely to pinch off flowers and fruits if I had a long growing season than a short one, and if I had an indeterminate tomato rather than a determinate one.

**camprn** 5/13/2014, 6:52 am

I agree, pinch blooms now and make sure to prune out any suckers. This should promote a bit more root growth which will make for a healthier plant. The plants will make more blooms soon.

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Should I pinch the flowers off tomato and pepper transplants?

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Re: Should I pinch the flowers off tomato and pepper transplants?


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