Single Stem Tomatoes

roper2008 · February 12, 2012

I saw this video on another forum. I've heard of this before but never
tried it. I am going to try this on some of my tomatoes this year.

http://youtu.be/jc6_ATF4lp4

b54red · February 12, 2012

If your climate is very humid like mine then I would recommend using 2 ft spacing to allow more air flow. I used 2 ft spacing last year and allowed 2 stems and suffered from way too much disease due to lack of air flow. I may try a few of the single stems this year but will give them a little more room.

Jeannine Anne · February 12, 2012

Until last year I have always grown indeterminate tomatoes this way as my Dad did before me..very English .Last year as my greenhouse had the Dwarf Project tomatoes in I didn't prune anything. I found the I liked the old way better . I will be going back to pruning this year apart from the Dwarfs.

It works well for me, my yield is still good my larger tomatoes had a better size and my plants were in control. Maybe in unlimited space it is OK to allow them freedom of growth but in the greenhouse in 5 gallon buckets I prefer the pruned one.

It is very common in the UK

XX Jeannine

**nctomatoman** · February 12, 2012

I did small pot, extreme prune indeterminates last year - 2 gal pot, one stem, 2-3 trusses, topped at 4 feet tall - so I could get some fresh seed from some...they did spectacularly - great flavor, production.....great way to fit lots of varieties in for just an evaluation and a seed save.

kath · February 13, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

I did small pot, extreme prune indeterminates last year - 2 gal pot, one stem, 2-3 trusses, topped at 4 feet tall - so I could get some fresh seed from some...they did spectacularly - great flavor, production.....great way to fit lots of varieties in for just an evaluation and a seed save.

Well, now I'm not at all worried about the size of this year's list - hurray! A trip or two to the nursery recycling bin and I'll be all set.

Thanks, Craig!

kath

Tania · May 21, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

I did small pot, extreme prune indeterminates last year - 2 gal pot, one stem, 2-3 trusses, topped at 4 feet tall - so I could get some fresh seed from some...they did spectacularly - great flavor, production.....great way to fit lots of varieties in for just an evaluation and a seed save.

nice idea - I will try that with my leftover seedlings!

b54red · May 22, 2012

Tom I have used BTDP for Berkley Tie Dye Pink for years and am probably too set in my ways to change it.

I too couldn't believe the number of fruits set on some of the single stem plants. In the long run they may not produce as many as plants with more stems but some of them particularly BTDP

, Black Krim, Spudakee, Cherokee Purple, Indian Stripe, Marianna's Peace, Lumpy Red, and Tarasenko-6 all set more fruit on the first 3 or 4 trusses when kept to one stem than their counterparts with more stems.

One big problem I have run into is the lose of leaves due to the massive worm attack and Gray Mold that hit about a week ago has left too many of my plants without enough foliage for leaf protection. I am going to rig a little shade for them with some leftover ground cover cloth. I hope a 2 ft strip over the center of the trellis will give them enough protection from sun scald.

tjg911 · May 22, 2012

i don't know what your "worm" problem is but i suspect you mean caterpillars. you can spray the plants with BT and that'll end the cat problem. never heard of grey mold, you have diseases we don't have. from what i have read here over the years, growing in the south is much more difficult than up here due to diseases and bugs.

the single stem sounds good for air circulation but as you noted lose leaves and you have sun scald or the inability to feed the plant. i am surprised that a single stem will produce such a high yield, i would have thought this was going to severely lower your harvest.

i won't use the single stem method as i don't see it being necessary for me. last year a cp plant had some fruits out in the sun and sun scald ruined most of them, this happened another year to another variety so i want more foliage not less. this is why i never prune the suckers, more shade and more leaves to feed the plant. i space plants far enough they have good air circulation despite the humidity and the nasty habit of it raining before dark vs early in the day so things can dry out. trimming the lower leaves helps with air circulation. i get some foliar problems but usually nothing too bad. my plants usually have most of their leaves in mid september, in other gardens the plants are often dead by then.

tom

FILMNET · May 22, 2012

In the photos shown the huge crops on the bottom of these single stems will be the first fruit, and then in the middle will be for fruits. .And as the plants grow after 50-60 days the top or plants may has last fruit. So 3 big crops from this plants. Here is my from 2 years ago.

janezee · February 12, 2012

Jeannine and Craig,
Thanks for that. I was considering asking that question, and you got to answering it first! Woohoo!
j

Jeannine Anne · February 12, 2012

Just to add, in the UK in a greenhouse situation the pots I grew in were much smaller than 5 gallon too .. I may have some pictures somewhere I wll take a look.

XX Jeannine

Father'sDaughter · February 12, 2012

My dad has always grown them this way and it's how I tried to do it last year, but often found myself unwilling to take off any side stems that already had flower trusses on them. This year I'm determined to stick to single stems. I figure it has to work since dad could provide enough tomatoes from a backyard garden, that an Italian family of seven never had to eat store bought tomato sauce.

**nctomatoman** · February 12, 2012

Yep - that's the problem! Those of us who grow things are always loathe to toss extras, prune, etc....but I ended up thinking of it as tough love (and the need to follow the experimental design I had in mind!)

roper2008 · February 12, 2012

Thanks red. I don't think I will plant them quite as close as
in the video. Normally in my 4 x 4 raised bed I only put 2
tomato plants. If I do it single stem, I could put at least 4.
One in each corner. Any extra space I can put basil.

b54red · February 12, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by roper2008

Thanks red. I don't think I will plant them quite as close as
in the video. Normally in my 4 x 4 raised bed I only put 2
tomato plants. If I do it single stem, I could put at least 4.
One in each corner. Any extra space I can put basil.

I plant in 4 ft raised beds but they are anywhere from 10 to 30 ft long. I have found that it is best to stagger the plants from one side to the other so you might be able to plant 5 plants per bed if you will maintain the single stem. Put 3 on one side 2 ft apart and stagger 2 on the other 2 ft apart. I basically did that all the way down a 30 ft bed last year but I didn't keep it to one stem and they looked great til they got big and then I had two solid walls of foliage on each side of the bed and very poor airflow. That resulted in a horrible case of gray mold which wiped out a lot of my plants.

This year I am going to do one bed with single stems and stagger them about 2 ft apart and maintain the single stem. It will be an experiment and in my other beds I will allow more room and more stems for my favorite varieties. I will also include these varieties in the single stem bed so I can compare the quality and production from each method. I have found out the hard way that pruning is very necessary in my hot humid climate if I want to have a chance at any of the plants lasting til the fruits ripen on the vine; but I have never gone as far as just one stem.

February 12, 2012	#1
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	Single Stem Tomatoes I saw this video on another forum. I've heard of this before but never tried it. I am going to try this on some of my tomatoes this year. http://youtu.be/jc6_ATF4lp4

February 12, 2012	#4
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	I did small pot, extreme prune indeterminates last year - 2 gal pot, one stem, 2-3 trusses, topped at 4 feet tall - so I could get some fresh seed from some...they did spectacularly - great flavor, production.....great way to fit lots of varieties in for just an evaluation and a seed save. __________________ Craig

May 22, 2012	#7
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Tom I have used BTDP for Berkley Tie Dye Pink for years and am probably too set in my ways to change it. I too couldn't believe the number of fruits set on some of the single stem plants. In the long run they may not produce as many as plants with more stems but some of them particularly BTDP, Black Krim, Spudakee, Cherokee Purple, Indian Stripe, Marianna's Peace, Lumpy Red, and Tarasenko-6 all set more fruit on the first 3 or 4 trusses when kept to one stem than their counterparts with more stems. One big problem I have run into is the lose of leaves due to the massive worm attack and Gray Mold that hit about a week ago has left too many of my plants without enough foliage for leaf protection. I am going to rig a little shade for them with some leftover ground cover cloth. I hope a 2 ft strip over the center of the trellis will give them enough protection from sun scald.

May 22, 2012	#8
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	i don't know what your "worm" problem is but i suspect you mean caterpillars. you can spray the plants with BT and that'll end the cat problem. never heard of grey mold, you have diseases we don't have. from what i have read here over the years, growing in the south is much more difficult than up here due to diseases and bugs. the single stem sounds good for air circulation but as you noted lose leaves and you have sun scald or the inability to feed the plant. i am surprised that a single stem will produce such a high yield, i would have thought this was going to severely lower your harvest. i won't use the single stem method as i don't see it being necessary for me. last year a cp plant had some fruits out in the sun and sun scald ruined most of them, this happened another year to another variety so i want more foliage not less. this is why i never prune the suckers, more shade and more leaves to feed the plant. i space plants far enough they have good air circulation despite the humidity and the nasty habit of it raining before dark vs early in the day so things can dry out. trimming the lower leaves helps with air circulation. i get some foliar problems but usually nothing too bad. my plants usually have most of their leaves in mid september, in other gardens the plants are often dead by then. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

February 12, 2012	#13
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Yep - that's the problem! Those of us who grow things are always loathe to toss extras, prune, etc....but I ended up thinking of it as tough love (and the need to follow the experimental design I had in mind!) __________________ Craig

February 12, 2012	#3
Jeannine Anne Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 1,553	Until last year I have always grown indeterminate tomatoes this way as my Dad did before me..very English .Last year as my greenhouse had the Dwarf Project tomatoes in I didn't prune anything. I found the I liked the old way better . I will be going back to pruning this year apart from the Dwarfs. It works well for me, my yield is still good my larger tomatoes had a better size and my plants were in control. Maybe in unlimited space it is OK to allow them freedom of growth but in the greenhouse in 5 gallon buckets I prefer the pruned one. It is very common in the UK XX Jeannine

February 12, 2012	#10
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	Jeannine and Craig, Thanks for that. I was considering asking that question, and you got to answering it first! Woohoo! j

February 12, 2012	#12
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,917	My dad has always grown them this way and it's how I tried to do it last year, but often found myself unwilling to take off any side stems that already had flower trusses on them. This year I'm determined to stick to single stems. I figure it has to work since dad could provide enough tomatoes from a backyard garden, that an Italian family of seven never had to eat store bought tomato sauce.