TRAINING THE TOMATO PLANTS!

I only grow indeterminant tomato plants which means they will continue to grow all season long. The growing frames I have constructed are only 16' long and there are eight plants on either side of the frame. Therefore, the plants must be trained upwards so that each one will use its designated two feet on the frame. I believe that training the plants upward is by far the best method of supporting them. The only tool necessary for this process is a pair of good sharp sisors.

When the plants are about two feet tall I pinch off all of the suckers and tie the main growing stem to the first rung of the frame. Once it is secure I allow the plant to split into two or three growing stems by the time they reach the second rung of the frame. I then remove all of the suckers up to the second rung and tie the three growing stems securely to the frame at the second level.

                                               This photo shows a sucker being removed

This photo depicts a

properly trained plant

on the frame. All

suckers have been

removed and the

plant is going up

the frame with 3

strong growing

stems

ABOUT SUCKERS

A Sap Sucker is a bird akin to the woodpecker family. They get their name from sucking the sap out of trees. A Tomato sucker also sucks the energy out of the tomato plant. At the axil of the tomato leaf (where the leaf is attached to the growing stem) the plant will naturally produce a sucker. If not removed this new growth will produce a whole new growing stem and it will keep multiplying throughout the growing season. Many growers simply let the plant go and multiply as many suckers as it can. A plant left alone and not pruned of suckers will become bushy and much of the plants enegery will be used to produce new green growth instead of producing new blooms and tomatoes. The plant will become so thick that it will be difficult for it to recieve adequate ventilation and that will lead to disease. Properly pruned of suckers, the three or four main growing stems will produce a bountiful harvest of much larger fruit. The unpruned plant will probably produce more tomatoes, but, in my opinion, they will be much smaller and of inferior quality.

When the plants set the first tomatoes, I then remove all of the leaves on the stem up to the first rung. Don't worry about hurting the plant by cutting off the bottom leaves. If left on the plant they will yellow and die anyway as the season progresses.