Pruning or "Suckering" Tomato Plants

[gil1]

The guy that sort of got me into gardening taught me to prune or �sucker� tomatoes as in the below article. I have since read a few on-line opinions stating that pruning tomatoes is the wrong way to go. What�s your take? To sucker or not to sucker? Thanks tons.
Gil

Pruning Maters Link

 

[catman529]

IMHO, no point in doing it unless you have limited space and want to stake them, or you want a couple extra large tomatoes. You may get bigger fruits from pruning but you won't get as many as if you let the plants go. One benefit of a pruned plant is that you can tie it to a stake. Regular plants branch out so much, they usually need more support, like a cage (i use a florida weave system). It's up to you really. If you want the most fruit possible then don't prune.

 

[gil1]

Good info.
I shoot carp and release hens. :)

 

[TX300mag]

I don't prune or sucker. No measured benefit and the plants are more succeptable to disease when injured.

 

[catman529]

Good info.
I shoot carp and release hens. :)

?

Last I heard, you had trouble shooting carp :D

 

[gil1]

Good info.
I shoot carp and release hens. :)

?

Last I heard, you had trouble shooting carp :D

The truth hurts! :D

 

[gil1]

I spoke with a guy who is known to be the tomato Grand Poobah in my circles. He said,

"I have clearly defined opinions on suckering. I leave the sucker immediately below the first bloom cluster and remove all others. I find this produces two good, solid sections of the vine and makes for larger tomatoes and more production (not so much energy going into plant growth)."

 

[woodchuckc]

I don't sucker my tomatoes, and I use cages to contain them. I think the extra foliage helps prevent sun scald of the fruits, and as others have said you will get a greater total yield. Something important to keep the plants from putting most of their energy into growing massive amounts of foliage instead of toward fruit is to be sure not to use a fertilizer with a lot of nitrogen (you want as low a first number as possible) during the growing season.

 

[Wildcat]

Since I started using Earth Boxes I have not suckered the tomato plants. There is no need to.

 

[Mausermeister]

I sucker mine because I stake them. You won't get quite as many fruit, but they will usually be bigger than if you don't.

 

[farmin68]

Here's a good video of how a commercial grower does it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJgA4n-sCE8

 

[catman529]

x2 what woodchuck said. Sun scald can get pretty bad if the fruit is completely exposed.

 

[TAFKAP]

x2 what woodchuck said. Sun scald can get pretty bad if the fruit is completely exposed.

I had a guy read into the "no leaves" tomato plant, and he swore by it.

His dang plants looked like a poison ivy vine on a tree, with giant red tomatoes and a couple leaves.

Honestly, I don't think it really matters.

 

[Wildcat]

x2 what woodchuck said. Sun scald can get pretty bad if the fruit is completely exposed.

I had a guy read into the "no leaves" tomato plant, and he swore by it.

His dang plants looked like a poison ivy vine on a tree, with giant red tomatoes and a couple leaves.

Honestly, I don't think it really matters.

Last year the caterpillars got most of my leaves before I could do anything and I ended up losing all my tomatoes that were still on the plant. The sun cooked them on the vine. I'm doing all I can to keep that from happening again.

 

[catman529]

I got sun scald on a few even with un-pruned plants. The fruit just happened to be exposed and got burned pretty bad.

 

[In_my_sights]

i cut the suckers. I think to much energy is put into the sucker vines that it takes away from the rest of production. Sucker vines produce less blooms so to me it isn't worth it.

 

[Nimrod777]

Never even thought to sucker tomatoes, but that YouTube vid looked pretty cool. Not sure if I have any indeterminates this year or not; will check.

Gil, sounds like you are in a great position to analyze and evaluate. Pick a few to sucker, and let us know if you find any difference worth the trouble!

 

[farmin68]

Never even thought to sucker tomatoes, but that YouTube vid looked pretty cool. Not sure if I have any indeterminates this year or not; will check.

There is no need to sucker them. I will remove the lowest one or two suckers, but that's it. More importantly, as a precaution against disease, I do prune anything coming into contact with the ground.

What varieties are you growing this year?

 

[catman529]

i cut the suckers. I think to much energy is put into the sucker vines that it takes away from the rest of production. Sucker vines produce less blooms so to me it isn't worth it.

Hasn't been my experience. All the indeterminate (vine-type) tomatoes I have grown produce just as many flower clusters on the suckers as on the main vine.

 

[Nimrod777]

So someone learn me up on this: Green leaves are where photosynthesis takes place, providing food and energy for the plant. At what point does having foliage take more energy away from the plant than it provides?

I can definitely see the desire to sucker if you want fewer but larger fruits.

 

[Mausermeister]

A sucker is basically another vine growing from the main stem. It "sucks" a lot of the water and nutrients from the root system that would otherwise be going to the main stem and it's fruit. Too many and you get a crowded plant that will overload the capacity of the root system.

An easy way to get more tomato plants for a late season crop is to put the freshly cut suckers in starter pots. Keep them moist and in a few days they will develope roots and can then be transplanted to the garden. I've even just stuck them straight in the soil successfully if the ground wasn't too dry.

 

[catman529]

A sucker is basically another vine growing from the main stem. It "sucks" a lot of the water and nutrients from the root system that would otherwise be going to the main stem and it's fruit. Too many and you get a crowded plant that will overload the capacity of the root system.

An easy way to get more tomato plants for a late season crop is to put the freshly cut suckers in starter pots. Keep them moist and in a few days they will develope roots and can then be transplanted to the garden. I've even just stuck them straight in the soil successfully if the ground wasn't too dry.

You can transplant your tomato seedlings deep, burying most of the stem, so they develop more roots to support the whole plant. I could be wrong, but I think the plant can't be overloaded by suckers because it was meant to grow that way. cherry tomatoes and determinates (bush-type) seem to benefit the most from no pruning. For example, my Sungold plants will get massive, and loaded with hundreds of fruit, but I don't care to prune them because then I would get literally a 20 foot long main stem and only as much fruit as one stem could set, rather than dozens of suckers all producing fruit. If you want fewer but larger fruits and more manageable plants, then pruning is probably better for you.

 

[Nimrod777]

Actually that video linked above says NOT to sucker determinate plants.

 

[Wildcat]

With Earth Boxes the plants root systems cannot be overloaded. As long as you keep the water level normal the plants will get as much water and nutrients they need. In fact the plants themselves will take from each box everything they need and no more.