Should tomato side shoots be pinched out and why?

I always have but friend of mine is adamant that some tomatoes cultivars should be left alone .Is he right? I always saw pinching out as way of keeping them under control otherwise they branch everywhere. He has already got three foot long shoots on the side and I was very tempted to cut them

 

If your friend is adamant that he wants his tomatoes left alone then so be it. Don't interfere with them. It is his choice. You grow yours your way which is the same as I do, having been taught on a Nursery how to do it over 40 years ago. Then show him how yours fruit compared to his. Let the proof be in the results. It really depends how many shoots he intends to leave and how many trusses he intends to leave on each shoot. But when someone is of such a strong opinion as he is you are wasting your time advising him differently. You can only teach by example. Frustrating as it may be to watch him you have to leave him to it. :(

 

yes of course but would I be correct i assuming that too many trussses result in very small fruit? Then again that wouldnt matter with Cherry varieties would it?Only ask because I always pinched the shoots regardless of variety and let them grow to 4 trusses high without really knowing why

 

Yes, you are right it will result in smaller fruit and they may well wilt before they even develop properly. It does depend on variety of course, some varieties lend themselves to bushing instead of cordon. If he leaves all shoots and trusses then the plant will suffer. I personally always deshoot and contain to about 5 or six trusses depending on the health of the main stem. If it is really stong and healthy then 6 trusses is fine. I wouldn't go beyond that though.

 

thanks ! would you do that with cherry varieties as well?

 

Hi All
I am also new to this veg growing thing and have lots of Tomato plants at different stages which I have grown from seed. My question with side shoots is When should I start to pinch them out? my largest plant is about 3ft tall and growing like mad but doesn't have any trusses yet.

Thanks in advance
Martin

 

You should pinch out the side shoots as soon as you see them appear or as soon as possible.

If you leave them to get big, then when you snap them off you can leave a "wound" on the plant which can be succeptible to disease.

But only pinch out side shoots on cordon or indeterminate varieties and don't pinch out with bush or determinate varieties.

P.S if you do have any big side shoots and you snap them off you can easily repot them by just sticking them in a pot of compost and they root very easily and you will have another small plant for free.

 

What even before any flowers appear?

 

I believe these are an indeterminate variety Gardeners Choice.

 

so how does one determine whether they are deteriminate or indeterminate varieties?When they are young they all look pretty much the same

 

well the seed packed said that these plants will grow to 5-6ft so I assumed that they are not the bush / determinate variety.

 

What's that got to do with anything ???

 

The variety and what it says on the packet will tell you all you need to know.

 

Well as I said I am new to this, and everything I have read says to pinch out side shoots once flower trusses have set. What does that mean? Only asking for advice, if you havn't got any helpful advice then why bother!