Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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March 14, 2016 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Posts: 38
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Pruning Tools
What is your favorite pruning tool? Do you use a pocket knife, micro-shears, your fingernails, or something else?
What brand and model do you use? Please link to amazon if you have a specific model you like. Thanks! |
March 14, 2016 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Czech republic
Posts: 2,529
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I break suckers by thumb. It's the easiest and quickest. My tool is right thumb. It is a cheap tool and serves me more than fifty years.
Vladimír |
March 14, 2016 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: glendora ca
Posts: 2,560
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When pruning 100's of plants kitchen shears work the best for me.
http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-She.../dp/B0050U240O
__________________
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." |
March 14, 2016 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Most of the time I just pinch them off with my thumb.
I also use a knife sometimes maybe scissors. I dont worry one darn bit about spreading anything and have never had it happen. If the plant is croaking I pull it. Worth |
March 14, 2016 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7
Posts: 4,915
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I also use my thumb to pinch off the unwanted suckers. But I use a gardeners' pruner to cut/clean up the leaf branches.
I always carry a small pocket knife for just in case. Gardeneer. |
March 14, 2016 | #6 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Posts: 38
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Quote:
It's funny you should mention this. Before I came back to read the responses I thought to myself I should ask if people bother with sanitizing the tools or not. You must be a mind reader! I suspect, but can't prove, that the risk for spreading infection is a bit overblown. |
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March 14, 2016 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Ohio
Posts: 457
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March 14, 2016 | #8 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Quote:
Get rid of the plant at the first sign of infection. They aren't people they are plants. If I have a verity that does this to me I wont grow it anymore. This is the reason you will never see me plant another Black Prince tomato in my garden ever again. Worth |
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March 14, 2016 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: San Diego-Tijuana
Posts: 2,594
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Pocket knife, shears, and thumb.
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March 14, 2016 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 1,413
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Machete
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March 14, 2016 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,540
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I like Fiskars pruning snips for most tasks in the veg garden
http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Gar...p-Pruning-Snip and for more heavy-duty jobs, either pruning shears (whichever ones I can find when I need them) or mega loppers (I have an old lopper made by Wilkinson Sword that's wonderful -- online I'm finding mostly UK sources). Occasionally kitchen shears when I run out to get greens for dinner. |
March 14, 2016 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: ohio
Posts: 4,350
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It depends on what I am pruning... tomatoes, apple trees, basil?
tomatoes, I pinch off apple trees - felcos, ARS pruners, a corona pole pruner and or a chainsaw. basil - hand pruners or scissors.
__________________
carolyn k |
March 15, 2016 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Posts: 38
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Thanks for the posts, folks!
I have never had grey mold. I've had septoria leaf spot, and perhaps some bacterial leaf spot (I'm not sure, may have been fungal... ?), but no grey mold. Last spring here in Missouri was HORRIBLE. It rained for several weeks straight, nearly every day. The plants never had a chance to dry out and everything got very sick. Spraying was useless because it rained nearly every day and washed off any treatments applied. I'm really hoping this year is better.... I grow my tomatoes vertically on cattle panel to about 7 feet tall. I am going to wipe the cattle panel down with clorox wipes before planting again this year, just to decontaminate. |
March 15, 2016 | #14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Posts: 38
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March 15, 2016 | #15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Spain
Posts: 416
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I only prune first foot and suckers with knife.
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Tags |
knife , pruning , shears |
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