Interesting article about tomato suckers

[Lmbauer2017]

Howdy!

Last year, veteran gardener Mr. @Chuck explained that I should NOT remove suckers from my tomato plants as they provide shade for the fruits in the south Texas sun. So I thought, “fascinating, that makes sense”.

Fast forward to now, I have 10 tomato plants LOADED with branches/suckers. There’s a big stigma against not pruning these things. I’ve actually never met one gardener who told me to leave them. It’s so embedded in the culture, so naturally I begin to question my decision.

After a quick Google search, I immediately found an article not written on a cheap website/blog loaded with ads. His reasoning blew me away. Essentially he explains that the original reason farmers removed suckers was so they could support their plants on a single stake! This was before tomato cages were a thing. But now it’s so embedded in the home gardening culture that most of the “information” is just piggybacking off what the general consensus is without any deeper research.

I’ll post a link to the article below if anyone is interested. I wish he provided references to the “research” he draws his facts from, but his reasoning does make sense from my limited experience.

The Truth About Tomato Suckers

I’ve written about this subject before, but I keep getting so much feedback on the subject I figure the informationContinue Reading

laidbackgardener.blog

Let me know what y’all think or have different experiences!

 

[Ruderunner]

I grow tomatoes on a trellis so I'm not concerned about having to limit the plants to what can be supported.

But, I do try to keep my plants airy by trimming suckers and discolored leaves. If I don't I have troubles with blackening and other illnesses. We're not in a particularly sunny area and breezes are dulled as we're surrounded by woods.

Over the years we've lost maybe a peck of tomatoes to sunscald.

 

[Chuck]

Howdy!

Last year, veteran gardener Mr. @Chuck explained that I should NOT remove suckers from my tomato plants as they provide shade for the fruits in the south Texas sun. So I thought, “fascinating, that makes sense”.

Fast forward to now, I have 10 tomato plants LOADED with branches/suckers. There’s a big stigma against not pruning these things. I’ve actually never met one gardener who told me to leave them. It’s so embedded in the culture, so naturally I begin to question my decision.

After a quick Google search, I immediately found an article not written on a cheap website/blog loaded with ads. His reasoning blew me away. Essentially he explains that the original reason farmers removed suckers was so they could support their plants on a single stake! This was before tomato cages were a thing. But now it’s so embedded in the home gardening culture that most of the “information” is just piggybacking off what the general consensus is without any deeper research.

I’ll post a link to the article below if anyone is interested. I wish he provided references to the “research” he draws his facts from, but his reasoning does make sense from my limited experience.

The Truth About Tomato Suckers

I’ve written about this subject before, but I keep getting so much feedback on the subject I figure the informationContinue Reading

laidbackgardener.blog

Let me know what y’all think or have different experiences!

I have always been told that the reason for pruning tomatoes was that in northern latitudes the sunlight is less abundant or intense and pruning was a means to use what sunlight was available in a more productive manner. This author has credentials and experience as evidenced if you will click on the ABOUT button on his website. But what's more is that he lives and gardens in Canada in a zone 3 location, so this this makes my belief about lack of sunlight in Northern states and the UK suspect at best. @ Zigs, @Tetters, @headfullofbees, what say you about this?

 

[Julian777ju]

Howdy!

Last year, veteran gardener Mr. @Chuck explained that I should NOT remove suckers from my tomato plants as they provide shade for the fruits in the south Texas sun. So I thought, “fascinating, that makes sense”.

Fast forward to now, I have 10 tomato plants LOADED with branches/suckers. There’s a big stigma against not pruning these things. I’ve actually never met one gardener who told me to leave them. It’s so embedded in the culture, so naturally I begin to question my decision.

After a quick Google search, I immediately found an article not written on a cheap website/blog loaded with ads. His reasoning blew me away. Essentially he explains that the original reason farmers removed suckers was so they could support their plants on a single stake! This was before tomato cages were a thing. But now it’s so embedded in the home gardening culture that most of the “information” is just piggybacking off what the general consensus is without any deeper research.

I’ll post a link to the article below if anyone is interested. I wish he provided references to the “research” he draws his facts from, but his reasoning does make sense from my limited experience.

The Truth About Tomato Suckers

I’ve written about this subject before, but I keep getting so much feedback on the subject I figure the informationContinue Reading

laidbackgardener.blog

Let me know what y’all think or have different experiences!

When I first stated gardening. I always heard the opposite online, YouTube everyone removed suckers. Sucks up a lot of energy from the plant some would say. They would do it during fruiting stage also, to help the fruit focus more energy, promoting it to keep producing the fruit development.

 

[smitty55]

It depends where you live. I absolutely remove every sucker soon as it shows up. Not only does this promote better airflow around my plants but with my heirlooms if I allowed suckers to grow tomatoes on them they would all break from the weight and supporting them would be a pain. For me I sure don't need all the extra green growth so I'll take that energy into growing my main vine and producing larger tomatoes. Sun scald is not an issue here in 5A and I get plenty of protection anyway from the large branches this plant produces. As it is I use screws in my 8 ft stakes to support the weight of these heavy plants with tomatoes that average well over a pound.

 

[Meadowlark]

Proving once again that folks need to find what works best for them in their local.

 

[Tetters]

Hiya @Chuck, I see that the benefit of removing all those little side shoots is a bit like pruning, in order to provide better quality and size of the fruit. It's what I was taught to do by my grandad at an early age. This also keeps the plant straight and strong and helps the air to circulate through so that I can see if there are any problems and deal with them early on.

 

[zigs]

I remove them if I get around to it, and I often use the side shoots as cuttings to make new plants, but the main reason I remove them nearer the end of the season is partly so the plants put their energy into the remaining fruits but mainly to let the sun and heat get to the fruits to ripen them.

Like Chuck said, we have a shorter season so we also "stop" the plants at the end of September by taking off any small fruits and flowers.

The plants I've overwintered in previous winters (Tomatoes are perenials) have stopped growing everywhere except where the weak winter sunshine lands on them.

 

[YumYum]

I keep the main stem and one sucker so I have 2 stems growing off one root. I use the florida weave method of hanging. If you prune determinate plants, you are cutting back your harvest but the plant gets better air circulation which is needed here because of the high humidity in Summer time.

I've tried using just the main stem and fruit production takes a big hit compared to two vines for some reason. I've also tried the main stem and 2 suckers. It works ok but it is a bit much for the florida weave and my plant spacing.

I have verticillium wilt in my soil which over time clogs the "arteries" of the stem so the plant cant uptake the same amount of nutrients in old age. Pruning them back seems to help them produce better tomatoes longer although they look badly in the end.

As Meadowlark said, you will find which method works best for you and the way you do things.

 

[Hvacdocgary]

It's also going to depend on how much room you have to grow. I have a smaller garden and if I don't remove the suckers the tomatoe's would overtake other tomatoes and plants.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

So now I have a question/idea... I have some very large "suckers" that are basically branches now. I'm hesitant to just cut them off in fear of stressing the plant (or is it OK to just cut these off?).

So what if I cut the very top off a sucker, then remove the suckers from that branch so it's just a branch with leaves on it. Would that branch help supply energy to the plant? Or is it better to just remove the entire branch instead of leaving only leaves with no growth tip? Sorry I don't have a picture! I thought about it when I was already on my way to work lol. I'll get one this evening if that helps with the explanation.

 

[Chuck]

So now I have a question/idea... I have some very large "suckers" that are basically branches now. I'm hesitant to just cut them off in fear of stressing the plant (or is it OK to just cut these off?).

So what if I cut the very top off a sucker, then remove the suckers from that branch so it's just a branch with leaves on it. Would that branch help supply energy to the plant? Or is it better to just remove the entire branch instead of leaving only leaves with no growth tip? Sorry I don't have a picture! I thought about it when I was already on my way to work lol. I'll get one this evening if that helps with the explanation.

Here in Texas you DO NOT remove suckers. We have an extremely short fruit setting period and you want every single bloom and future tomato that you can possibly have. There are only two times here that one would remove a sucker. The first being if it were close to the ground and in danger of water splashing up onto it and the second is if you removed a sucker to use as a cutting and these are the only two reasons besides disease. Between now and about mid May/ 1 June are the only times this spring and summer that we will be able to produce tomatoes so why would anyone in our climate want to lesson the numbers of tomatoes. Don't worry about energy. Energy comes from the sun and before long you will wish there wasn't so much of it.

 

[YumYum]

I'd try what Chuck says because when the temps get too hot and humid the plant doesn't want to set fruit. There are a couple varieties of tomatoes for hot climates but I can't remember what they are now (Florida tomatoes or something like that) and have never grown them.

 

[Tetters]

I think @Chuck may have just the answer you're looking for. When in Texas, do as the Texans do As it has been pointed out already, we all have our different methods of doing things to suit whereabouts we are, and what our particular climate is like.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

Here in Texas you DO NOT remove suckers. We have an extremely short fruit setting period and you want every single bloom and future tomato that you can possibly have. There are only two times here that one would remove a sucker. The first being if it were close to the ground and in danger of water splashing up onto it and the second is if you removed a sucker to use as a cutting and these are the only two reasons besides disease. Between now and about mid May/ 1 June are the only times this spring and summer that we will be able to produce tomatoes so why would anyone in our climate want to lesson the numbers of tomatoes. Don't worry about energy. Energy comes from the sun and before long you will wish there wasn't so much of it.

Ahhhh thank you keeping me straight as usual Mr. Chuck! Yes I'm definitely jumping the gun thinking they aren't getting enough sun. You'd think last year's heat would be BURNED into my skull by now... But the reassurance is definitely appreciated. Thank you!