What is needed in order to grow excellent tomatoes? Good seeds, fertile soil, fertilizers, watering. Yes, this is all very important. But often summer residents forget about such an important moment as pinching tomatoes. This is an important question even for experienced summer residents, since the procedure allows you to get a large crop when growing almost any variety. Many confuse it with the usual removal of leaves, but this is not the case.
What is pinching tomatoes
If you want to take not quantity, but quality, then you need to engage in gardening in accordance with the basic agricultural rules and techniques. Of course, you can plant five beds of tomatoes and still get the required number of fruits. But if the place is limited, then the summer resident cannot afford such luxury.
So, you need to use proven methods that will allow you to get more fruits from the same number of plants. And one of these is the pinching of tomatoes. This is the name of the correction of the vegetative part of the plant, that is, the removal of excess shoots. Otherwise, the plant will build up green mass to the detriment of the fruit.
Nature of events
Stitching tomatoes is not a one-time procedure. Removal of shoots must be performed throughout the season. This must be done before the stepsons become too large and begin to weaken the plant. The maximum length of the stepson, which does not cause much harm to the plant, is 5 cm.
If you do not remove them on time, then all efforts to grow tomatoes will not succeed. A neglected bush will weaken and the fruits will be much smaller and of worse quality.
How to perform the procedure
Even experienced gardeners are often interested in how to pinch tomatoes. In fact, this procedure is not too complicated. It is breaking off unnecessary branches of tomatoes.
Stepsons are side branches. While they are small, they are easily confused with leaves. Therefore, you need to give the branches a little growth, after which carefully inspect and remove the emerging young branches. It is very good if a more experienced gardener shows you for the first time how to pinch tomatoes. At first the leaf grows, and from under it the stepson already peeps.
If you want to save time
It is no secret that a lot of time will be required on a bed with tomatoes. Especially tall varieties throw stepchildren in large numbers throughout the season. Soon they will resemble a shapeless bush in which it is difficult to find fruits. And they will be tied in a very limited amount.
But there are tomatoes that do not require pinching. They are stunted and strong, very convenient for growing. Bushes do not overgrow, and the fruits are always in sight. Therefore, they require minimal maintenance. These include the following varieties:
- Amber. Salad variety that forms yellow and very juicy fruits.
- Lady fingers. Elongated fruits are very juicy and sweet.
- Nevsky. The earliest of all determinant cultures. Fruits are formed after 60 days.
- Gnome. The variety is very compact, reaches only 40 cm in height.
- Oak. One of the best varieties for outdoor cultivation. Compact and resistant to late blight, it has received the widest popularity among gardeners.
Working with determinant varieties requires some caution. The fact is that they have genetically laid a certain number of flower brushes. If you mistakenly remove the growth point, the formation of fruit brushes may stop. This will affect the amount of the crop. Therefore, determinant varieties that do not require pinching are most popular. Today, the choice is quite large. In a specialized store you will be offered dozens of options.
When stepsoning is necessary
This procedure is especially important for tall, indeterminate varieties. They have a stepson growing from each leaf. A huge amount of green mass requires a lot of effort. Moreover, even top dressing is not able to solve the problem. Saturation with nitrogen leads to an even greater growth of green mass. In this flowering and fruiting is postponed for an indefinite period.
The need for the procedure is determined by visual inspection of the bush. If it ceased to be seen through, and the bed began to resemble a dense thicket, then time has already been lost. Normally, one bush should separate some distance from another. each of them can clearly distinguish between branches, as well as inspect flower brushes and emerging fruits. As soon as the picture starts to change, it's time to get down to business. After spending several hours, you easily pluck out all the extra stepsons and make the bush neat.
How to perform the procedure correctly
Do not forget that your goal is the intensive growth and development of the plant, its active flowering and fruiting. If you pinch off the branches at random, you can achieve the opposite effect, that is, the death of tomatoes. Care and stepsoning go side by side. Every day, performing watering and inspection of the beds, you can determine whether it is time to get down to business.
In order for pinching to be useful, the following rules must be observed:
- You need to start the process from the first brush during flowering.
- On a tall bush, it is permissible to leave one or two stems. Each of them has up to 10 flower brushes. Another plus to this bush formation is that the fruits ripen earlier. If this is not done, then first the green mass will grow for a long time, and then only a small amount of tomatoes will set.
- It is necessary to break off stepsons until they reach 5 cm in length.
- All stepsons forming below flowering branches (up to the very roots) must be removed without any pity.
- If the bush is strong, then it is permissible to leave stepsons above flowering brushes. Due to them, you can get an additional crop.
Important points, secrets and tips
Pasynkovanie of tomatoes is a whole art, having mastered which, a person can control the processes of growing vegetables in his summer cottage. And first of all, you need knowledge of the theory. Already on the basis of this, we can proceed to practice.
- Stepchildren are best to break off in the early morning. This is easier for the gardener himself, since at this time it is not so hot. And the plant will tolerate the procedure more easily if it is not performed under the scorching sun.
- Stepchildren need to break off, not cut off. At the same time, try to break off to the side to avoid getting juice on your hands, and then on other plants.
- Have you ever seen bushes whose lower branches lie on the ground? This should not be. They need to be tied up, and the leaves removed. The stem should be dry, illuminated by the sun and not block air. It is very important for the prevention of fungal and viral diseases.
- At the beginning of summer, you can only ensure that no extra side shoots are formed. And in July it is time to pinch the tops to stop the growth of the bush and focus on growing those fruits that are already planted.
- Pasynkovka undersized tomatoes is carried out so that the stem remains and from 2 to 3 inflorescences.
Options for performing the procedure
Of course, most often gardeners focus only on their own intuition. But actually this is not the best option. There are ready-made schemes that were developed by agricultural technicians. If you stick to one of them, you will achieve excellent results. Of course, if you provide all the conditions for plants. That is, you will water and feed them on time.
The formation of the bush can be performed in the following ways:
- One stalk on a garter. With this approach, a small number of fruits are formed, but large and excellent quality. In this case, almost all the lateral stems are removed, there is only one stepson to set fruit. Of the minuses, one can note its instability. Without support, such a bush will easily break.
- A more stable bush is formed into two stems. Of course, it allows you to get more fruits, so the need for support is not canceled. Along with the main stem, there is one stepson under the inflorescence. All other branches that are located below are completely removed, exposing the trunk. It turns out a form of stag.
- The third option is suitable for the largest and strongest bushes. Formation is performed in three stems. The main escape is left, one stepson under the first flowering brush and the most powerful stepson from below. It is recommended that each of them be tied to its support.
Features of processing plants in greenhouse conditions
Most often, giants, indeterminate varieties with unlimited growth grow in closed ground. This is easy to explain. The size of the greenhouse is very limited. Therefore, you need to use the vertical as well. Such bushes can reach two or more meters in height. The planting of tomatoes in the greenhouse is a must for every gardener, otherwise you will not get anything other than greens.
Most often, bushes of tall tomatoes form in one or two stems, so you need to try to master these techniques. But if you are engaged in growing tomatoes with determinant growth, then you need to consider the limited resources. Their main stem ends with a fruit brush. That is, growing to their maximum, they only release stepchildren further. Removing them, you reduce the yield of the bush. Therefore, 2-3 stepson must be left on the plants and pinch them after the formation of two fruit brushes.
Garden Plants
The technique of execution remains unchanged. Paschatka tomatoes in the open field should be carried out regardless of where the bushes grow. Rather, the choice of varieties. For open ground, determinant varieties and superdeterminants are most often acquired. Processing them is much easier. Despite the fact that you still need to pinch them, you have to do this much less often. And the number of additional branches in such crops is small. 3-4 bushes of stepson are sure to be left on the bushes, which are then tied separately to the support.