Stepson Tomato - Secrets and Tips
When growing tomatoes, abundant mineral nutrition is used to obtain a high yield. At the same time, the tomato begins to give many additional shoots, which leads to a thickening of the planting and a decrease in yield. To regulate growth, tomato pinching is used.
What is pinching tomatoes
A tomato in each axil of a leaf, starting from the first real, can grow a shoot. It is part of the main stem and does not differ from it in the type of growth. Leaves are located on it, brushes with fruits are laid. These shoots in the initial stage of growth are called stepchildren. If you leave them, then the tomato begins to branch and thicken. Ovaries form on the hands of the stepchildren and an overload of fruits occurs. This leads to crushing of all fruits. One of the stepsons can grow intensively, begins to lead in relation to the others and becomes the main top.
To equalize the ratio of green mass and the number of fruits, adjust the load, use pinching tomatoes in the greenhouse. This is the removal of unnecessary shoots in the leaf axils before they begin to thicken.
It is best to remove them until they grow in length no more than 5 cm. Up to this size, the stepson still slightly pulls off nutrients and its removal does not harm the tomato. If they are harvested later, the tomato is injured and it loses its yield.
When is it necessary to pinch a tomato?
The first stepsons can be seen already at seedlings
After planting in the ground in a permanent place, the tomatoes begin to form stepchildren intensively. It is necessary periodically, at least after 6-7 days, to pass through the rows and remove unnecessary shoots before they begin to grow.
You have to remove stepchildren all the time. Tomato pickling is an important part of the grooming work in tomato shaping. In greenhouses, this operation is carried out even after the start of harvesting.
How to pinch tomatoes correctly?
Education of stepchildren determinant and indeterminate tomato varieties are different. Let us consider in detail the rules for pinching tomatoes, depending on the type of bush.
Grasshopper tomato with indeterminate bush
Indeterminate varieties are characterized by unrestricted growth of the main tip and all lateral shoots. If you do not pinch such plants, then they quickly take up the entire volume in the greenhouse, and you will not be able to get a high-quality crop.
How to pinch tomatoes in a greenhouse with an indeterminate type of bush? Depending on their variety, they form, leaving one, two, and also three main shoots.
When forming, including only one stem, remove all stepchildren in the axils of the leaves, leaving only the main shoot with fruitful brushes. In greenhouses, the tomato is gradually lowered and the stem is laid on the surface of the soil, and all the resulting stepchildren continue to be removed.
Forming into two or more main stems, respectively, the same number of additional shoots are left to grow. They develop into fruitful shoots and become additional stems. The rest of all shoots are gradually removed, preventing them from overgrowing.
Grasshopper tomato with determinate bush
Varieties with a determinant type of bush are more difficult to pinch than indeterminate ones.There is always the possibility of removing the desired shoot, which will continue to grow the entire plant.
The main shoot of a determinate tomato always ends, i.e. finishes growing, forming a brush at the end. If at the same time all the stepsons are removed, then the plant does not have a growth tip. It no longer forms shoots with new fruitful clusters and leaves. The harvest of such a tomato is limited only to the previously formed fruits.
In order not to delete the necessary stepsons, they adhere to the following rules:
- they are removed no earlier than growing by 4-5 cm;
- before the start of removal, the stepson is determined, which will become the main growth shoot;
- if in doubt about the removal of the shoot, it is left to grow, it can then be pinched, completing the growth.
Grassing a tomato in pictures will more clearly show the places where excess shoots are removed and the formation of a bush.
Varieties and hybrids with a superdeterminate type of bush branching have their own peculiarities in pinching. Currently, varieties of tomatoes have been bred without pinching. If you remove all the extra shoots before the first brush, then later they can, in general, not be pinned. These tomatoes include, for example, Alaska, White filling 241, Vershok, Boni M, Gavrosh, Gruntovy Gribovskiy 1180, Moskvich, Raketa, Siberian precocious, Yamal.
Most of the determinant varieties grown outdoors are not pinned, as this leads to reduced yields. Tomato pickling is most important in greenhouse conditions, because they are trying to get the maximum yield, recouping the cost of maintaining an expensive structure.
How is pinching performed?
The most common way to remove shoots is to break them off with your hands.
It is advisable to do this with rubber gloves. The operation is carried out in the first half of the day, when the stems are more juicy, while the shoots easily break off.
The stepson is clamped with his thumb and forefinger, then he is shaken in opposite directions until he leaves the plant. A small wound appears at the site of the break. Until the end of the day, the place of damage dries up and no pathogenic infection will get into it.
Stepsons can also be cut with a knife or scissors. When using a cutting tool, the following rules should be followed:
- blades should be sharpened to the sharpness of a razor so that damage during cutting is minimal;
- movements must be quick and precise so as not to damage the growing stems or other important organs;
- after the operation on one plant, before moving to another, it is necessary to dip the blades of the instrument in a disinfectant solution, for example, 1% bleach or 1% potassium permanganate;
- leave a piece of shoot about 1.5 cm in order to slow down the formation of new unnecessary shoots in this place;
- the cut parts are folded into a container and taken out of the greenhouse so as not to provoke the appearance of infectious diseases from plant debris.
Sometimes, after pinching, after some time in the place where the shoot was removed, a new one begins to grow. It is formed from a dormant bud that was in the leaf axil. Therefore, you have to re-delete the stepsons.
Sometimes a new shoot begins to grow in the lower part of the tomato after a long time, when several brushes have already formed. An escape is also formed from a dormant bud, but before that, the stepson might not have formed in this place. This is a varietal trait or the tomato is receiving too much nutrition, so the appearance of additional stems is stimulated. In order not to overload the plant and not to thicken the planting, these stepsons should also be removed in a timely manner.
Grazing tomatoes in a greenhouse is an inevitable event. How often summer residents feel sorry for the young bushes to deprive new shoots. As a result, after three weeks they run for help, since they themselves are no longer able to deal with the intertwined stems.They watch with horror as their bush is ripped off. After such a one-time operation, the plant gets sick and lags behind in development. Therefore, those who got acquainted with this article need to apply all methods of pinching without starting the plants. It has been correctly noted that even determinant varieties require the formation of a bush. From practice, a full-fledged crop on a determinant variety can consist of seven clusters. An indeterminate bush will give 11 brushes. More can be grown only with intensive cultivation in a specialized farm. On a private farm, when growing without the use of stimulants, getting an ecological crop can no longer grow.
What to do with pinching, if, due to inexperience, you do not seize what kind of plant it is - determinant or indeterminant? I planted the seeds and threw out the bag
Any tomatoes need to be grafted. This allows you to get larger fruits, speed up their ripening period and protect against some diseases. In thickened bushes, the risk of rot development increases, midges gather and multiply.
Good afternoon ... ..I'm a beginner gardener ... I removed my stepchildren constantly ... and left the leaves ... only 1-2 on the bush ... but as it turned out, not the ones ... flowers are few ... some have dried up and fell ... the bush itself is tall ... almost to the roof of the greenhouse ...
First you need to pinch the growth point of the stepson after the discarded peduncle. Then there are 2 options. 1. Donate fruits in the lower part of the bush and lower the stem down, carefully digging in the lower part (this will give the plant the opportunity to form additional roots and gain new strength for further development). Treat the bush that has become much lower with means to stimulate the formation of a peduncle. 2. Do not sacrifice fruits, but pinch the growth point. Feed the plant and feed for the development of the crown. You will have to work with a tall plant, which is not very convenient. when new peduncles appear, carry out a special treatment to form an ovary. There is still time to get the harvest, although it will be less than it could have been. Personally, I would prefer option 1.
After a cold snap in a film greenhouse, the tops of the tomatoes froze. There is nothing to replace. Stepsons were formed. Which ones to leave: lower or upper and how much?
Better to leave the upper stepsons. One or two. it's up to you.
Very correct. Thank you.
Hello! This is the first time I have grown tomatoes this year and have probably already missed the pinching time. I have tall varieties Natasha (yellow) and Barberry (red small fruits). All bushes are highly branched and are already about 130cm high. If I am their stepson now, will it harm the plants? And it is still not clear how many stems they have - they are all somehow thick already and bent. Help with advice please! If possible, answer here, because I can't go to the mail yet.
In greenhouses, tomatoes are grown in one trunk. You need to start looking at the bottom sheet, gradually rising up. In the open field, I prefer not to pinch tomatoes too much. I cut off the stepsons only in the bosoms from 1 to 5 sheets. Next, I pinch the growth point of the stepson after the appearance of the peduncle. The fruits are covered with leaves and are not baked from sunlight. I also make sure that the crown is not too thick. It is better to remove stepsons with scissors so as not to damage the central trunk. Correct removal of stepchildren does not harm the central trunk.
But what if the tomato grew first in one stalk, then went to two (this is definitely not a stepson), leave both or remove one (in the greenhouse)?
Both options are valid. It all depends on personal preference and the distance between the bushes. I think that you may have a single copy, or at least several. Experiment and leave two stems. There will be an opportunity to compare and will not particularly affect the harvest.I live in the south of Ukraine and I prefer growing tomatoes in the open field. At the same time, I do not tie up all the bushes to my stepson. In this case, it is possible to observe and compare the results.
How to dive tomato seedlings correctly? I am still a beginner, I read, I study. It is believed that it is necessary to deepen the stalk into the ground to the level immediately below the first two leaves. The explanation is that the root system will develop better this way.