Single Stem Tomatoes

[ExpendableZero]

That raised bed looks to be about 6 inches deep. Is that really enough soil for a tomato?

[kath]

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

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Petronius_II

In hot dry climates, our problem is more likely to be too much sun. In New Mexico, Colorado, and some parts of California and Arizona, high altitude brings on the additional problem of high ultraviolet light in that sunlight.

Long story short, we seldom prune at all because our plants can use a little shade. If we do prune, we do so very judiciously.

I'm not clear on how this plays out in hot humid environments. Indiana, where I grew up, tends in that general direction, but not all that much. My best educated guess is, there are probably several effective techniques that can accentuate the positive (heat) and diminuate the negative (humidity) without a whole lot of pruning. My other educated guess is, those techniques are often pretty tricky.

You know, I was thinking about this today. Not pruning the leaves but removing suckers. I started wondering if it would be better for plants to only have to support a single stem n our extreme heat and drought. That way, the roots would all go to supporting a single stem, rather than a whole bunch of stems.
For shade, I use a shed cloth. Perhaps I could plant closer together and remove suckers? Just getting ready to plant out now, giving this some thought.

[tgplp]

I just saw this video, and I'm glad I did! Now I don't have to worry about my giant list! I bet this method would work just perfect for PNW's wet, cloudy, cool summers. Pruning to one stem would provide better airflow in wet, disease prone weather, and we won't need to worry about sunscald, because the clouds do the job for us!

I'll definitely use this on at least half my tomato plants... and see how it goes.

Taryn

[janezee]

Taryn, that's just what I was thinking! Especially the sunscald bit!

j

[FILMNET]

We have a short season here up north, I keep only 1 stem for at least30 days or more, as soon as flowers are there i maybe let the pants go to 2-3 stems. but no stems from the dirt, these will stop the plants growing. I have fruits from this frist flower's first, they should be big ones.

[linuxman51]

My granddad used that technique when he grew tomatoes to sell at his gas station. I couldn't bring myself to do that last year, but I believe I will try it, have 1-2 stems and trim the rest off.

I saw a video a couple of years ago from a commercial tomato nursery. They grew single stem plants in nutrient rich water. They pruned the stem and harvested ripe tomatoes as the single stem grew vertically to about thirty feet in length. They simply coiled the stem on the floor as the plant grew taller or longer. At about thirty feet in length, they removed the plants and replanted new seedlings.

In the video showing the single stem, square foot gardening technique; the guy kept claiming cherry tomato plants are determinate and don't require single stem pruning. I must be missing something. I don't believe I've ever grown a determinate cherry tomato plant. I'm growing five different cherry varieties this year and none of them are determinate.

Ted

[FILMNET]

Right maybe Currents he was talking about,But what i found out was every year my cherries grow different. quick fruit which takes forever to ripen, sometimes i find a new stem coming out in the dirt beside the 1 stem.

[linuxman51]

Originally Posted by tedln

I saw a video a couple of years ago from a commercial tomato nursery. They grew single stem plants in nutrient rich water. They pruned the stem and harvested ripe tomatoes as the single stem grew vertically to about thirty feet in length. They simply coiled the stem on the floor as the plant grew taller or longer. At about thirty feet in length, they removed the plants and replanted new seedlings.

In the video showing the single stem, square foot gardening technique; the guy kept claiming cherry tomato plants are determinate and don't require single stem pruning. I must be missing something. I don't believe I've ever grown a determinate cherry tomato plant. I'm growing five different cherry varieties this year and none of them are determinate.

Ted

none of my cherries were determinate last year, I think half the plants ended up over the fence in the neighbor's yard

[FILMNET]

I have posted this before but i leaned from senior Italian friends that they did only 1 stem if they had maybe 8 fruits on 1 plants, They would cut stems and leaf off the bottom and other leaf off. You can not kill the plants if they are growing crazy. Last year to much rain and not much sun. so no cutting for me.

Filmnet,

I saw a post on this forum or possibly another forum claiming he grows tomatoes just like his grand father. As the single stem grows upward, he removes all branches and foliage level with or below the bloom/fruit trusses. He left only the foliage at the top of the stem. I've never had the guts to try it. Since I am growing two plants of forty varieties this year, I may let one plant grow normally and keep one plant pruned to a single stem. I can then compare how each variety produces as single stem plants and normal growth plants. I haven't decided yet. One problem I do have with single stem growing is maintaining enough foliage to protect the fruit from the strong sunlight to prevent sun scald.

I do prune all low hanging branches to prevent them from contacting the soil as they grow upwards and prevent soil from splashing up on the leaves during heavy rains. It seems to help prevent or at least delay the onset of foliage diseases.

Ted

[Tracydr]

I had a lot of trouble with low fruits getting eaten by bugs last year and rotting, even with plenty of mulch. I think I'll at least prune lower branches more, try to keep lowest truss above ground somehow..

[stormymater]

Pruning for me has been problematic - We dip scissors in Clorox water between cuts but the stems all too often get a yellowed scab/eschar at the cut site which then slowly ascends & becomes circumferential - killing that part of the vine & slowing, then stopping all tomato production. My plants that look like escapes from a dinner theatre production of "Hair" but they do not that that scabby infection... just other stuff...

[dice]

[determinate cherries]
Gold Nugget and Mini-gold are determinate. Mini-gold has the
better flavor of the two, to my palate.

[pruning]
Where sunscald is a problem but you need to prune for space reasons,
one can try "Missouri pruning". Instead of pinching out a new stem as
soon as you see it, you let it grow until it has a pair of new leaves and
then pinch off the top of it. This has a downside in that two more stems
can sprout from the two new leaves on it, so this can get exponential
in how much pruning you end up doing per plant, but besides sunscald
protection, the plant has more area for photosynthesis, and this could
improve the flavor (remembering nctomatoman's theory that a lot of
determinates have so-so flavor because they simply produce too many
fruit for their leaf area to supply with sugars and so on).