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Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 10:55 am
by Geoff
If you stop tomatoes to try and induce early ripening when do you do it, after how many trusses?

Does it work?

I have 10 plants earlier than the rest and am quite happy to sacrifice yield to some early fruit.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:01 pm
by robo
Outside toms are supposed to be stopped after the fourth truss inside the pollytunnel I leave till the end is insight normally around the ninth truss but if it's a warm Autumn I will leave them I usually grow into November but I never plant early most people are eating tomatoes when mine are on the second or third truss but later in the summer mine still have a lot left in them

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:09 pm
by retropants
I've never stopped mine. I like to have a nice lot of green tomatoes at the end of the season to make chutney with.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:16 pm
by Pa Snip
I have always pinched out side shoots from the outset and tops at 5 trusses on cordon tomatoes.

I don't pinch out bush tomatoes for obvious reasons.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:38 pm
by tigerburnie
I have a couple of "spares" that are in pots, so they will be stopped when they hit the top of the canes.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:43 pm
by PLUMPUDDING
I never stop mine, I just support them with extra canes or attach wires or string to the greenhouse roof and let them carry on. I once saw a programme about a commercial greenhouse where they let them grow to the top then bent them down to the floor then up again they must have been 20 ft to 30 ft long. They also re rooted where the stem touched the ground. I suppose they had super strength tomato food too.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:31 pm
by Geoff
I treat my tomatoes much as you have all said but I am trying to find out if stopping at say 4 or 5 trusses induces ripening. It's annoying how you get well into the Summer with plenty of your own salad but bought tomatoes.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 7:02 pm
by Monika
I thought the ripening is a result of temperature (rather than just sunlight) so I would have thought stopping the plants would not accelerate the ripening - each tomato would probably just grow larger.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 9:02 pm
by Westi
Interesting what you wrote PP!

I've seen internet posts where people plant their tomatoes laying down with just the very tops poking out, so the stem roots all along sending up new shoots so you could achieve a plant quite long & a massive crop. Might try it as an experiment - that's planting it on it's side not taking it up & back down again! I've tried pinching out to stop my toms but they just ignore it so generally let them get on with it mostly!

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 10:27 pm
by Primrose
I've occasionally had squirrels annoyingly climb down the fence against which my tomatoes are grown, snapping off the tops of the plants when feuit has been developing. The remaining fruit has grown and ripened at exactly the same rate as thw other undamaged plants, which I think probably proves that snipping out the tops of plants doesn,t make fruit ripen any more quickly.

I always grow a few tumbling tomwto plants now as well as cordons. The fruits are smaller than cordon varieties but seem to mature and ripen earlier, peolonging the season. Totally agree about having to buy tomatoes for.much the summer while yiu're geowing them.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 9:14 am
by retropants
mine are grown up string supports tied to the greenhouse roof. I do take the sideshoots out.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 9:38 am
by tigerburnie
ImageView from the greenhouse door by R MAURINS, on Flickr
You will see that I too grow my tommies up strings where they are in the ground, but I am waiting for them to come in to season,I don't eat shop bought ones unless they are cooked.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 1:26 pm
by Tony Hague
Westi wrote:Interesting what you wrote PP!

I've seen internet posts where people plant their tomatoes laying down with just the very tops poking out, so the stem roots all along sending up new shoots so you could achieve a plant quite long & a massive crop.


PP is right. Commercially they are grown in a tall greenhouse, up a string. Spare length of string is left at the top in a ball. When the plant reaches the top, the bottom part is deleafed, the string is untied at the top, lowered and moved sideways so that the bottom part of the stem lies horizontal. Doing this with all along the row, they stay at the same spacing, and with a double row they can wrap around at the ends. Might not work so well in a smaller greenhouse.

Re: Stopping Tomatoes

Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 4:14 pm
by Colin Miles
Surely stopping depends on variety? Some are determinate so stop themselves. And yes, I doubt whether that induces ripening. Depends on temperature, humidity, etc.