Do I need to nip out the side shoots?

[vegpatchmum]

Hi guys,

I'm growing 'Hundreds and Thousands' and Tumbling Tom' tomatoes for the first time this year and they will be living in my hanging baskets. I've usually only grown Gardeners Delight because my girls love them and space is a premium but I fancied a change so chose to grow the other two as well as the usual Cherry Tom this time .

However, I can't seem to find a definitive answer on whether or not to nip out side shoots, as I do with the Gardeners Delights, or leave them to grow as nature intended, as it were .

Also I've read that I could put at least 2 of each into a hanging basket (mine are around 14inch diameter) without compromising the quality of the crop and as I have spares, if true then this would be ideal.

Can anyone help clear up my confusion? Any help and suggestions would be gratefully recieved.

Many thanks
VPM
x

[solway cropper]

Don't nip out the side shoots, they are bush varieties. You would only nip out out the side shoots if they were cordons, ie. growing a single main stem.

Personally I wouldn't put two in a basket as I don't think you'd have sufficient volume of compost and you'd probably end up having to water/feed them three or four times a day!

[vegpatchmum]

Thank you Solway, much appreciated. I'll keep them as is then. Just have to find somewhere else for the spares to live

VPM
x

[Primrose]

No, definitely don't nip out the sideshoots of these tumbling varietiesas the sideshoots go on to develop flowers and trusses of their own. My yellow Tumbling Toms last year varied quite a lot in width & height so you might find that 2 plants in a 14" inch basket might be quite a squeeze and possibly result in the plants being cramped and producing less, unless you possibly add some extra nutrients such as a few chicken manure pellets in the compost. They're also very thirsty plants, so mix some water retention crystals in the compost as well as you'll otherwise be having to water them twice a day in warm weather.

Incidentally, I've found find that these tumbling varieties tend to be slightly less vulnerable to tomato blight in my garden I've got several spare plants this year and have just planted them in the borders where they'll do equally well. The Hundreds & Thousands produce very small tomatoes about the size of a large pea. The Tumbling Toms are slightly bigger.