Basic How To Questions

[Jeff S]

I'm growing tomatoes in a greenhouse and have a few questions about basics.
1. I'm growing indeterminates and was wondering when and where to prune the lower branches as the plant grows.
2. The leaves are getting whitish stains on them. Is this from high humidity?
3. Is it better to grow new seedlings or just use the suckers from an existing plant?

This is probably the beginning of a bunch of other questions. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[OmahaJB]

Hopefully someone with more knowledge than I will chime in, but since I've tried and mostly failed to grow indoors several times, I have picked up a little bit of insight. I don't like taking off too many branches because the leaves are soaking up the light, but when it appears to me they are mostly in the way of watering and air circulation, I do take some of the lowest ones off when it seems prudent. I also take off some of the suckers that grow from the lower branches.

Wonder if the white stains you see on the lower leaves are from water splashing on them.

Can't answer your third question. I always grow from seed but I can see why someone would want to take a cutting from an existing plant.

[clkeiper]

1) Are you tying them up with twine and clips or are they caged? if they are clip and twine are you using a pulley system or just letting them grow up as far as they can? or are they flopping down once they grow to the ceiling?

I prune and keep pruning just to keep the plant thinned. I don't cut off the leaves (except the bottom couple of feet) but I do try to keep the suckers pruned out.... eventually you keep missing them and have a mess. at least I do when I am out of time perpetually.

Whitish stains? sound like mildew/mold from high humidity to me.

3) using the suckers works just fine unless you want different tomatoes instead of monoculture . Seeds work but take a lot longer to get ready.

Just my experience, maybe others will have different experience or knowledge.

[Jeff S]

I'm using clips but when the reach the rafters I run them along the rafters. Being new at this I couldn't bring myself to prune like I was advised this summer but they got way out of hand so I've been taking off all the suckers, new and established if they haven't developed fruit yet. Everyday I prune and think I've got it under control but next day it's another bucket of limbs. I'm using aquaponics for growing and have 4 plants at each end of my 12' bed. The older plants on the south end will be coming out within the next few weeks and I'll just have 4 plants that I will keep under control. They seem to grow bigger and better fruit when kept to a single vine.