Advice on Remediation (Tomato planting distance)

crmauch · June 21, 2013

When I planted my tomatoes out, I researched on the Internet and I seemed to come up with a spacing of 18 inches between plants. However yesterday I was looking at some information, and these sites specified 24 inches or even more! I'm not going to remove any plants or try to move them at this point. I am trying a 'Florida weave' for the training of the tomatoes for the first time this year. (Previously I've used rebar cages, but the cages are getting old and starting to break down (plus I always end up with weed problems inside the cages and end up losing some of the larger tomatoes that form up between a vine and the side of the cage.)

I don't usually 'prune' my tomatoes because I'm not staking them, but should I remove 'some' of the suckers because of my planting distance? Or should I just train the tomatoes in place? Any other thoughts on managing the plants?

I have two rows of plants - rows 3 ft apart. In each row, I have 1 indeterminate dwarf (Husky Gold), 2 Determinates (Romas) and 2 indeterminates - (Golden Jubiliee and Super Sweet 100).

Hillbillygardner · June 21, 2013

I have always pinched off the suckers, staked or caged, but this year we let five of our cherokee purples go wild. They have more tomatoes and have ripened earlier than ever before. So, I am not sure about the whole sucker debate. My grandpa never pinched his tomatoes and he had huge success with all of his tomatoes so maybe you should do a few and leave some just to see.

June 21, 2013	#1
crmauch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Honey Brook, PA Zone 6b Posts: 399	Advice on Remediation (Tomato planting distance) When I planted my tomatoes out, I researched on the Internet and I seemed to come up with a spacing of 18 inches between plants. However yesterday I was looking at some information, and these sites specified 24 inches or even more! I'm not going to remove any plants or try to move them at this point. I am trying a 'Florida weave' for the training of the tomatoes for the first time this year. (Previously I've used rebar cages, but the cages are getting old and starting to break down (plus I always end up with weed problems inside the cages and end up losing some of the larger tomatoes that form up between a vine and the side of the cage.) I don't usually 'prune' my tomatoes because I'm not staking them, but should I remove 'some' of the suckers because of my planting distance? Or should I just train the tomatoes in place? Any other thoughts on managing the plants? I have two rows of plants - rows 3 ft apart. In each row, I have 1 indeterminate dwarf (Husky Gold), 2 Determinates (Romas) and 2 indeterminates - (Golden Jubiliee and Super Sweet 100).

June 21, 2013	#2
Hillbillygardner Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Eagle Rock, MO Posts: 43	I have always pinched off the suckers, staked or caged, but this year we let five of our cherokee purples go wild. They have more tomatoes and have ripened earlier than ever before. So, I am not sure about the whole sucker debate. My grandpa never pinched his tomatoes and he had huge success with all of his tomatoes so maybe you should do a few and leave some just to see.