Prune tomatoes or move neighbors?

TinySpock 5/14/2015, 8:12 pm

Hi! I have a couple of tomato plants that are taking over the world - or at least their adjacent squares. I don't know if it would be better to move the plants they are shading, cut off the offending tomato plant branches, or tie them up like a Christmas tree on the top of a car with string.

I did prune the indetermine one and the determinate has two stems. I don't want to harm them, as they're doing so well - really well - but I'm worried about the adjacent plants, a cucumber and a squash.

All was well on 4-7-15:

Prune tomatoes or move neighbors? Northb11

Prune tomatoes or move neighbors? Northb11

Today, 5-14-15:

Prune tomatoes or move neighbors? Garden14

Prune tomatoes or move neighbors? Garden16

Prune tomatoes or move neighbors? Garden15

What should one do?

**sanderson** 5/15/2015, 1:49 am

Decisions, decisions. The pepper should transplant okay if you scope it up with a big ball of dirt and plop in down in a hole the same size. Marigolds can go elsewhere or pots. It's the tomatoes themselves that are the problem. They need super support and diligent pruning of suckers to stay in one square. Any chance you can get a good big trellis behind them? Something you can keep tying them to laterally, that won't fall forward? Even secured poles so you can do a Florida Weave? This is your first year and you will learn so, so much from your gardening endeavors. Very Happy

mschaef 5/15/2015, 2:38 am

I agree with Sanderson about pruning the tomatoes so they stay in one square. If you continue to let them grow they will just keep getting bigger and bigger that is what mine have done in the past. I have become a diligent pruner of the suckers till the end of the season based on my experiences with monster tomato plants.

**walshevak** 5/15/2015, 8:52 am

Do not prune the determinate variety, just the indeterminate. The indeterminate will need a much taller trellis and even the determinate will need a taller cage or support. Try leaning a support system over toward the fence and as you say tying the tomatoes on it like that Christmas tree (good image) thereby pulling most of the tomato growth over the side of the box and not right on top of the adjacent plants. MM is such good stuff that plants can really go to town. And remember, the cucumber will also climb so give it a trellis too.
Kay

vortex 5/15/2015, 10:38 am

What about pruning suckers on determinate varieties? I've always clipped suckers, regardless of variety.

quiltbea 5/15/2015, 10:57 am

vortex.....Determinates put all their growth into one big harvest. Their suckers are needed to maintain productivity since they are where the tomatoes will grow for the full flush of harvest. I wouldn't prune off those suckers if you want more tomatoes.

**trolleydriver** 5/15/2015, 2:26 pm

Your tomatoes are doing well.

This week I bought some tomato plants to tranpslant and when I got home I noticed on the tag that they were determinate. So it was back to the store for indeterminates. Last year a I grew indeterminate tomatoes and tied them to 8 foot 2x2 stakes. I cut off the suckers (may have left just one on some of them). It worked out really well. This year I'm doing my first 2 SFG boxes but decided not to grow tomatoes in them due to the amount of space they need. Instead I will do what I did last year in a part of the garden on the north side of the SFG boxes.

TinySpock 5/15/2015, 6:37 pm

Oh, Sanderson! Those bamboo stakes were a gift from a non-gardening friend. I knew that were never meant to support a tomato plant; I wanted to show her that I was using them; this was as close to gardening as she was going to get and she was all excited about my SFG. Now that the tomatoes are growing, the conduit pipe and nylon webbing will be put in this weekend. I admit that the indeterminate pruning got away from me. Smile

**sanderson** 5/15/2015, 7:01 pm

Ah, I see. Never fear, the bamboo stakes are good for pepper and eggplants. Very Happy

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