Step-by-step diagram of how to correctly pinch tomatoes in a greenhouse
For the correct cultivation of tomatoes, knowledge of how to pinch tomatoes in a greenhouse step by step plays an important role. If the procedure is not carried out, then the plants will not have enough nutrients for the formation of fruits. Then they will get a lot of green mass, a minimum of juicy tomatoes.
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Purpose of pinching, rules for its conduct
Grasshopping is the removal of excess lateral shoots growing from the leaf axils, or stepsons. The purpose of pinching is:
- the formation of one or two plant stems;
- getting a quick harvest of tomatoes;
- an increase in the number of fruits from one square meter of the greenhouse;
- reducing the risk of infection with pathogenic fungi;
- lengthening the period of fruiting.
The lateral processes on the stem must be removed, as they interfere with the development of the fruit part of the plant. Requiring as much nutrients as possible, they deprive nourishment of the fruit set.
Correct pinching involves tearing off excess leaves before planting seedlings in the greenhouse. And nine days after transplanting the seedlings into a closed room, they are stepchild for the second time. Now this procedure is performed after a week. The main thing is to observe that the stepsons did not reach more than five centimeters in length.
Before pinching tomatoes in a greenhouse, the plant is not watered or fed.
Remove excess processes with scissors or twisting by hand. After the procedure, a stump of three centimeters is left in place of removal, which will not allow shoots to appear in this place. Tomatoes are pinched in the greenhouse when the sun illuminates the room in the morning. After cutting off, the green mass is placed right there on the garden bed. It will start to decompose, releasing carbon dioxide. But if there is a possibility of infection with fungal diseases, then it is better to remove the torn branches from the room.
Stepson or fruit cluster - how to distinguish
To pinch tomatoes in a greenhouse, you need to understand what to pick on the stems. If the gardener is poorly versed in the structure of the tomato bush, then instead of stepsons, shoots bearing fruit can be removed.
The extra process begins its growth from the axil of the leaf growing from the stem of the tomato. That which begins to develop between the leaf and the trunk of the bush is the stepson. The parasitic shoots are especially active when the first flower clusters appear. Then they get those nutrients that are intended for tying a tomato.
What is the scheme for pinning tall varieties of tomatoes
Indeterminate Tomatoes grown in a greenhouse environment, then they bear fruit for a long time, giving juicy tomatoes for four months. The peculiarity of their planting in greenhouses is the following:
- The bushes are planted in rows with a distance between them of a meter - one and a half, and between the plants themselves - thirty centimeters.
- For support, either pegs or trellises with stretched wire, twine are used. The tension height is about two meters, as the tomatoes grow up quickly.
- It is best for an indeterminate species to grow in one stem, less often in two.
For the pinching procedure, the bush must be tied to the pegs with twine or twine. All stepchildren are removed, removing one or two sheets every week. Get rid of the foliage at the bottom of the stem before the first fruits begin to set. Only the top will be intact in tall varieties. For such a scheme for removing shoots, a high greenhouse is needed, a large number of seedlings.
Some growers advise to form two stems to increase yield. Passion-making in the greenhouse will then proceed differently. The process under the first inflorescence is left, and the rest are cut off. The resulting stem is tied to the main one.
Now there will be more fruits in the lower part of the tomatoes, and the upward movement of the stem will slow down. It is important to pinch the second stem and tie it in time.
Single-stalk pinching is preferred for greenhouses. Carrying out a similar scheme for forming a bush will create more space in the room. The ventilation of the lower part of the plant will improve, the tomatoes will get enough light.
Which varieties are suitable for indoor
Among tall tomatoes, the following indeterminate species give high yields in greenhouses:
- From one bush of the Jane variety, you can get up to five kilograms of large tomatoes. When pinching, the number of fruits increases.
- Small tomatoes of the Cherry red variety similar to a bunch of grapes are used for canning.
- Jane's hybrid tastes excellent in salads.
- Chio chio san tomatoes were bred for greenhouses. In addition to excellent taste, the versatility of the plant's purpose can be noted. The fruits are good in summer salads, salted, pickled.
Tall tomatoes are considered ideal for a greenhouse. With the correct pinching of the bushes, the ripening of the fruits accelerates, they bear fruit for a long time in closed ground. In addition, tall bushes are easy to care for.
Let's take out medium-sized and low-growing tomatoes
For semi-determinant vegetable species that grow to a medium height, two-stalk pinching is chosen. The spare shoot will help improve fruiting if the main stem completes it quickly. In the case where the main stem continues to set fruit after eight brushes, the second can be removed. Otherwise, the developed stepson will take food from the fruiting branches.
Grassing tomato in a medium-sized greenhouse requires the formation of three stems. In this case, a process is left under the first inflorescence, and then another, strong, well-developed one, under it. The rest of the stepsons clean up.
If there are only medium-sized varieties of tomatoes in the greenhouse, then most of them are processed in one stem. The rest, when they complete their growth, are formed into several shoots.
Low-growing varieties of tomatoes, or determinant ones, try to pinch in one stem or not carry out the procedure at all. But it is these plants that will delight with early fruits if they form one stem. For this purpose, the stepchild leaves only two or three inflorescences on the plant. After the last inflorescence, pinch the top of the main shoot.
Super low-growing varieties bear fruit only on the first five or three inflorescences. Therefore, it is enough to leave two or three stems on the bushes. Each shoot can have up to three inflorescences.The more shoots are left, the more likely it is that the fruit will not ripen on time.
The scheme for pinching tomatoes in a greenhouse depends on how many stems need to be left and what they want to achieve - early fruiting, increasing its duration or creating comfortable conditions for tomatoes in a closed room.
Peculiarities of pinching for different varieties
Understanding how to correctly pinch tomatoes in a greenhouse arises because only a beginner gardener can rejoice at a strongly overgrown bush. In return, he will receive small tomatoes, a lot of greenery and little harvest. Indeed, in order to nourish the fruits, a large amount of minerals and vitamins is needed. Therefore, many varieties tomatoes require competent pinching... And the best option is to form one stem.
If there is little space in the greenhouses, then the fewer stems on the bush, the more comfortable the plants will feel. They will also receive food from the soil, from the sun, from the air. Full lighting of tomato plantings will improve protein synthesis in plant cells. Good air circulation will prevent tomatoes from becoming infected with late blight.
With thickened plantings, the likelihood of the occurrence and spread of a fungal infection increases many times.
Tall types of tomatoes are sure to stepchild. How many stems to leave look at the behavior of the main shoot. If he stops his growth, then he is replaced by a spare stem. Best of all, the bush yields a crop on which five to seven inflorescences develop. With a long summer, more fruit brushes are left.
Tall tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse bush strongly, hence the need to control the growth process.
When caring for tomatoes, it is important not to miss the moment of pinching. Lateral shoots are removed before the first fruit cluster appears. It is possible to determine its early formation by the presence of the sixth or tenth leaf on the stem.
Weakly branching determinant varieties stop growing on their own. Therefore, it is worth cutting off the lateral processes until the moment when three brushes appear. This leaves only one stem. If the operation did not have time to be carried out, and the shoots have already appeared, then two stems are left. One of them must be stronger. It is important that the brushes are spaced two sheets apart. Without proper formation of brushes, there will be fewer, which means the number of fruits will decrease.
The removal of excess shoots is completed in early August. The tops of the bushes are pinched. It remains to wait for the ripening of the set fruits.
Grassing a tomato in a greenhouse is an important point in caring for a vegetable crop. There is no need to be afraid of this procedure. It is carried out quickly and will give an impetus to the development of inflorescences, the early setting of fruits.
