I have a question. I am going to plant tomatoes in hanging baskets and I was wondering if you can pinch back tomatoes to make them bushier instead of taller? I have never done this but I have never planted tomatoes in hanging baskets before either.
May God bless those who love the soil,
Patsy
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts
Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 2:31:07 PM
Patsy-
You can pinch off tomatoes, but if you don’t let them get tall enough first, you could risk pinching off the stems that were going to flower. In my opinion, I wouldn’t worry about pinching them off from your hanging basket unless they get really out of control. I have always grown tomatoes and I rarely stake mine. Tomato plants will adapt to the amount of support you give them and you hanging baskets should be fine. The only thing you will want to watch for is the ripening fruit so they don’t drop and squish before you can get them!
Yes, this is actually a recommended practice. Pinch out any new suckers that are coming in between the main branches and that will encourage production and well as bushiness.
Rachel
A Little Closer to Heaven
Oregon Coast
USA
231 Posts
Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 8:40:37 PM
I think I read to try to pinch branches so that you have three main ones, and keep the rest pinched. I also read that at the end of a season, to improve the chances of your last fruits ripening, that you should start pinching off flowers. This causes the plant to focus it's energy on growing the fruit that it already has, rather than making new fruit that will never get large enough to ripen while the weather is still good. Worked for me last year.
Can you pinch back tomatoes?
Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 2:01:58 PM
