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.

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.

Jeannine Anne · February 12, 2012

You can always plant the cuttings, they root easily, I have done this with mini plants so as to have some through the winter under lights, easier than starting fresh seed and great if you only have a couple of seeds of a special tomato and want more plants.

I take mine off when they about an inch long as regular pruning and leave them to get about 6 inches for cuttings.

XX Jeannine

janezee · February 12, 2012

Oh, Jeannine, Thank you! I hadn't thought of that! <duh>
That's so good, because I have only 2 seeds of something I really want to grow out!

j

Petronius_II · February 12, 2012

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.

**nctomatoman** · February 12, 2012

The very thing you mention is why I did my small pot extreme prune plants in a double row, pots touching - so that they created a short wall of foliage and shaded sufficiently so that I didn't get any sunscald...in a very hot, sunny Raleigh!

Petronius_II · February 12, 2012

Attached image presented for your consideration:

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

February 12, 2012	#8
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	#14
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	The very thing you mention is why I did my small pot extreme prune plants in a double row, pots touching - so that they created a short wall of foliage and shaded sufficiently so that I didn't get any sunscald...in a very hot, sunny Raleigh! __________________ Craig

February 12, 2012	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	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.

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	#5
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	#7
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.

February 12, 2012	#13
Petronius_II Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 7a Posts: 209	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.