How to pinch tomatoes in the open field and in the greenhouse
During the cultivation of tomatoes, it is recommended to regularly feed the soil with various mineral fertilizers. This has a positive effect on the amount of the harvested crop. However, top dressing also contributes to the appearance of a large number of branches, which can interfere with the formation of large fruits. To get rid of shoots, it is necessary to carry out pinching of tomatoes in the open field. For beginners, this procedure may seem rather complicated and therefore it is recommended that you familiarize yourself in advance with how to pinch tomatoes correctly and whether you need to do it at all.
general information
Before you figure out how to pinch tomatoes, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic information about this procedure.
The main task of the root system of bushes is the even distribution of all nutrients. During growth, most of the substances are spent not on the fruits, but on the growth of the tops. In order to somehow reduce the costs of elements for tops, tomatoes are pinched.
Tomato grazing in the open field is the pruning of unnecessary shoots that are formed only for the growth of the plant. Quite often, stepchildren of tomato seedlings appear in the leaf sinus. They grow between the main stem of the plant and the leaf. To properly get rid of these shoots, you need to know how to properly pick off stepsons from a tomato.
You will have to remove stepchildren from the bushes throughout the entire cultivation. This is the only way to get a good and large harvest.
The appearance of the stepsons
To figure out how to pinch tomatoes, you need to understand what stepsons look like and where they most often begin to form. After all, not everyone knows exactly which shoots need to be removed in order to improve productivity.
The stepson is a shoot that begins to form from a bud located between the stem of the bush and its leaves. The growth of this shoot is not limited in any way. Over time, flowers, leaves and even fruits will begin to form on it. It is imperative to pinch tomato seedlings with such extra shoots, since a bush that is too thick does not bear fruit well. Pruning of leaves is also sometimes done. However, this will not help completely stop thickening of the plants. Only a complete pinching of the tomatoes will help in stopping thickening. It is recommended to do this when the plant grows up to 50 cm, and the length of the shoots reaches 5-8 cm.
When to remove shoots
Before pruning shoots, you should figure out when to do it. For the first time, the procedure is carried out while growing seedlings.Quite often, unnecessary shoots begin to form on very young bushes.
At the same time, during the pinching of tomato seedlings, stepchildren are removed, which are more than one centimeter.
Next time, pinching tomatoes in the greenhouse and on the site should be done after planting in the ground. It was during this period that new shoots began to appear intensively on the bushes. Therefore, you need to periodically get rid of them and engage in pinching the tomato in the open field once a week.
Key recommendations
It is recommended that you read the basic shoot removal tips to understand how to properly prune your tomatoes.
Quite often, the removal of stepchildren is carried out without any additional tools. Many growers simply remove them by hand. Such tomato pruning in the greenhouse must be done with gloves. It is recommended to do manual breaking off of shoots before lunch, as in the morning they are juicy and because of this they break much easier.
Figuring out how to pinch tomatoes is pretty simple. During this procedure, the shoots are tightly clamped with the index and thumb. After that, they should be rocked in different directions until they break. After pinching, a small wound appears on the bush. It should not be touched until it is completely dry.
You can also pinch tomatoes in the open field using scissors or an ordinary kitchen knife. This method is more complicated than the previous one and therefore it is worth familiarizing yourself with how to pinch tomatoes in a greenhouse with cutting tools:
- You only need to cut a tomato in a greenhouse with well-sharpened tools so that when pinching it minimizes damage to the stem.
- Removing shoots on tomatoes requires certain skills from a person. After all, the movements of the hands must be precise and very fast, so that the procedure is painless for the bushes.
- Before cutting off the stepsons on the next plant, all used tools must be disinfected in a solution of potassium and bleach.
- To prevent the emergence of new shoots, a small piece of the stepson should be left after removal.
- It is necessary to get rid of the aborted escape immediately. If they are left on the site, then they can become a source of various infectious diseases.
Working with indeterminate bushes
The scheme for pinching such tomatoes is quite simple. However, you should still familiarize yourself with how to properly pinch tomatoes in open ground and greenhouses.
The main difference between all indeterminate plants is that they can grow continuously. If you do not take up the removal of unnecessary shoots in a timely manner, then in the future the bushes can occupy all the free space of the greenhouse.
Form such tomato bushes can be done in various ways. It all depends on the variety of tomatoes grown. During the formation of one stem, you will have to get rid of all the shoots located in the leaf axils. If the bushes have a garter, then before pinching the tomatoes in the greenhouse, the tying will need to be removed in order to lay the stem on the ground.
During the formation of several stems, the plant will have to leave the right number of shoots. Over time, they transform into additional stems that need a binding garter to keep them from breaking. All other shoots should be removed.
Working with determinant hives
Quite often, undersized tomatoes are the determinant varieties. Their distinctive feature is that they stop growing when a brush appears at the top. After removing additional shoots, the plant will stop forming stepchildren with new leaves and brushes.Therefore, the yield of such varieties is limited to the fruits formed earlier.
There are several basic guidelines to help you understand how to properly prune tomatoes in the greenhouse and on the site:
- it is necessary to remove from tomatoes only those stepsons whose length is more than 5 cm;
- before starting work, you should select the main sprout shoot;
- sometimes the garter makes it difficult to remove the stepsons, so it is better to remove it during work;
- it is not necessary to remove all unnecessary shoots, as you can simply do the pinching of the tomatoes to stop their development.
There are also super-determinant varieties that have their own principle of pruning tomatoes in a greenhouse. Some of them greatly simplify the cultivation of tomatoes, since they are stepson only once. The fact is that if the stepsons are removed before the brush is formed, then they will not appear in the future. These include Rocket tomatoes, Yamal, Moskvich and Vershok.
Removing sheets
It's no secret that leaves are an important element of any plant. After all, they are responsible for food and gas exchange. Therefore, you need to deal with their removal very carefully so as not to accidentally get rid of a healthy and young leaf.
It is recommended to get rid of only those leaves that negatively affect the development of the fruit. For example, these include leaves that shade tomatoes. If you get rid of them in a timely manner, this will improve the air exchange of the plant and accelerate the process of ripening tomatoes.
You also need to cut off the leaves that grow near the brush of the plant. It is recommended that you delete no more than four sheets per week. However, if the bush is well looked after, and it is not sick with anything, then at one time you can get rid of six leaves at once.
At the end of the season, you can get rid of almost all the leaves, except for a few that are at the very top of the bushes. This procedure helps to protect the bushes from the appearance of various diseases.
Conclusion
During the cultivation of tomatoes, it is imperative to do their pinching. Before that, it is recommended to figure out how to pinch tomatoes in order to improve yields. It will help you understand how to pinch tomatoes in the open field with a video that will explain this process step by step.
