In order to successfully grow tomatoes, you need to know about some rules and secrets. Mandatory procedure is the formation of bushes and pinching of the side processes. Novice farmers do not always use herding technology. In this case, the crop may simply not have time to ripen, or the rows turn out to be too thick. In this review, we will examine why it is necessary to carry on tomato herding, how this procedure is carried out and how the formation methods depend on the variety and type of plant.
What is technology?
Let's dwell on this in more detail. When the tomato bush is too branched, new flowers, shoots and ovaries can form on it. Stepsons are inactive kidneys located in the sinuses. They can sleep until a certain time. After the plant throws out all the ovaries, and the formation of fruits begins, side processes are formed from these buds. As a result, full stems may appear from them, on which the ovaries form. At first glance, this is not a big deal. After all, the more fruits, the better.
However, not everything is so easy. A large number of ovaries does not at all mean an increase in productivity. Extra stepsons adversely affect the number of fruits and can interfere with their ripening. If you do not plant tomatoes in a timely manner, then the already formed fruits will reduce the ripening speed, and the newly formed ones will be too small.
What harm can stepchildren do to tomatoes:
- They reduce productivity.
- Fruits are reduced in size.
- Ripening time increases.
- Stepsons make plantings too thick, which can cause the development of diseases and infections.
- A large number of fruits contributes to breaking off shoots.
- Stepchildren take away energy from the plant, which is required for it to ripen high-quality fruits.
- Stepchildren can lead to strong overgrowth of bushes and a change in their shape.
Is it necessary to remove the side shoots?
So what do you need to know about this? It is not necessary to pinch tomatoes in the open ground . But in greenhouses, this procedure should be carried out necessarily. This is due to the fact that early ripe determinant varieties are usually planted in open ground. They differ in that after the appearance of a certain number of ovaries on the bushes, the side shoots cease to grow naturally. Such varieties do not need to be further controlled. On the bushes will grow exactly as many stepsons as necessary to get a good harvest. This applies only to super-early and early determinant varieties. On them, tomatoes can finish ripening in mid-summer. In most regions of our country, the climate is such that long rains begin in August, and in early autumn the first night frosts appear. Therefore, plants can be susceptible to disease and shed ovaries with young tomatoes.
Recommendations from experienced growers
How to grow tomatoes? Care, stepsoning, garter is best done using the advice of gardeners with experience. It is believed that only the fruits that were formed before August 1 will have time to ripen. What happens to other inflorescences and shoots? They need to break off. This is called the procedure for pinching tomatoes.
A feature of indeterminate varieties is that additional shoots and processes on them are formed all the time. In this case, the main stem does not stop growing. In order to monitor the number of fruits and the formation of a bush, it is necessary to carry out the proper pinching of tomatoes. Experienced gardeners advise to clean stepchildren during the planting of seedlings. Already at this stage, side shoots are formed on seedlings of indeterminate varieties. Stepsons actively appear after 5-7 ovaries appear on the bushes. Starting from this time, the gardener needs to periodically inspect the bushes and remove excess processes.
When growing indeterminate varieties, the stepsoning of tomatoes in the soil is carried out in a special way. In this case, it is necessary to remove not only the lateral processes under the leaves. The top of the main stem is also removed. If this procedure is not carried out, the bush will continue to grow and form ovaries. As a result, the ripening of the fruits is inhibited, and the plant itself weakens. Abundant pinching may be a sign of excess nitrogen in the soil. This is always worth watching.
Varieties that do not require pinching
There are many of them. Breeders have done tremendous work on the formation of varieties that do not require pinching. They simply do not form additional stems. This greatly facilitates the care of the crop. Just plant the tomatoes and regularly water them, waiting for the crop to appear. These varieties include hybrid and superdeterminant tomatoes. These varieties form a certain number of ovaries. When they appear, the bushes simply stop further growth.
Removing stepsons: instructions
How are the stepsoning of tomatoes carried out? Photos, detailed instructions and feedback from gardeners will help you perform this operation correctly. Morning hours are best for forming tomatoes. In the morning, tomatoes are saturated with moisture to the maximum. Because of this, the stems will be resilient and fragile. Such a stepson is easier to break off, and the plant itself will not be injured. Until the end of the day there will still be quite a lot of time for the wounds to dry. This reduces the risk of infections.
How to determine when to remove stepchildren? If the length of the processes reaches from 3 to 5 cm, then they can be easily cut off. They have not yet managed to take a lot of power from the plant. In addition, the cliff site will be invisible, and the wound will be small. If large processes are detected, breaking them off is not recommended. If you did not manage to remove the shoots at a young age, it will be enough just to pinch the tops of the shoots. Experienced farmers recommend manually crafting stepchildren after wearing gloves. So you can avoid getting the infection in the wounds. The process must be clamped with two fingers and slightly rocked from side to side, thereby breaking it off.
You can also use scissors or a knife to remove, just make sure that the blades are sharp enough. Otherwise, there is a high risk of injuring the plant. After performing the procedure on each bush, it is necessary to disinfect the tool using any available means. Do not throw ragged stepsons to the ground. They can cause the spread of infections and diseases, so they should be collected and thrown away. In place of the removed stepsons, new shoots may appear over time. They must be torn in time. In order to stop the growth of new shoots, experienced vegetable growers recommend leaving small “stumps” whose length does not exceed 1.5 cm.
Outdoor formation
This process will depend on many factors. Here are just a few of them:
- Type of tomato (indeterminate or determinant).
- Varieties (with or without developmental arrest).
- Ripening speed.
- Climatic conditions. If the weather in your area is cool and cloudy, then even determinant varieties may not give a full crop. For this reason, it is necessary to thin out the bushes a little, removing the stepsons.
- Farmer's requirements. For some, the number of fruits is important, others are interested in their size and taste characteristics. If productivity is more important for you, then tomatoes can be grown on several stems.
We grow tomatoes in one stalk
Usually this method is used in greenhouses and greenhouses. However, it can also be used outdoors if you have indeterminate varieties. According to this method, the gardener must remove absolutely all stepsons, leaving only one central. As a result, a certain number of ovaries characteristic of this variety will be formed. A feature of this method is that the farmer has to constantly monitor the condition of the bush and check for new shoots. The disadvantage of this method is that it reduces the number of fruits. On bushes there will be only 3-5 ovaries. This method is usually used when it comes to preparing tomatoes for sale. The plant throws all its forces into the formation of the first fruits. Thus, you can get the crop two weeks earlier than a week. It is during this period of time that the price of tomatoes is higher than ever. If you are going to grow tomatoes using the one-stem method , then you will need to use seedlings 2-3 times more. So you can independently control the amount of the crop.
We grow tomatoes in two stems
Gardeners often still use this method. It makes it possible to significantly increase productivity. To get two trunks for each bush, you need to remove all the processes and leave only the one located under the first brush. This shoot will play the role of a full-fledged stem. On it, almost as many fruits will ripen as on the central trunk. Thus, it is possible to double the tomato yield, and the ripening rate will be much lower. In this case, the tomatoes themselves will be slightly smaller than if the formation of the bush was carried out in only one trunk.
Growing tomatoes in three stems
This option is considered optimal for the formation of bushes. It can be used even when planting in open ground. First of all, it is necessary to determine which shoot is central, and highlight the first ovary. All you need to do next is just follow the formation of leaves below this ovary. Only those stepsons that grow from the sinuses of the first and second leaf are left. This method allows you to get the maximum yield, while the fruits will be ripe and large.
If you prefer to grow undersized tomatoes, pinching in this case is carried out in a similar way.
Conclusion
How to properly grow tomatoes in your area? Stitching and garter are mandatory procedures that are required to obtain a quality crop.
It is necessary to pinch and remove the shoots when working with indeterminate varieties. In other cases, the gardener must decide on his own whether or not to plant tomatoes.