Single Stem Tomatoes

[Tapout]

Originally Posted by venturabananas

I think that is less likely than self shading in unpruned plants. All new vegetative growth also photosynthesizes, so it adds energy to the plant, rather than using energy.

I disagree. You are putting the horse before the cart. I''l put this in plain terms. Yes new leaves will produce more energy, but it takes energy to make those leaves and stems. Also self shading of these new leaves and stems reduces their photosynthetic ability. So now not only are you producing unneeded plant matter you are producing non efficient plant matter. All that energy could go into the established fruit. Ever think why people top plants? prune new flower clusters? It's energy manipulation.

[venturabananas]

Read this, then decide.

http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/docu...ferrandino.pdf

[Tapout]

The pdf you posted backs up everything that I say. Maybe you are misunderstanding me?

[venturabananas]

Yes, we aren't communicating effectively! You emphasized diversion of energy from fruit production to leaf production in unpruned plants. My understanding of what goes on is that it's not really about transferring energy towards fruit production when you prune. It's more about allowing each energy producer (i.e., each leaf) to function at its maximum capacity, which can't happen if many leaves are shaded by other leaves, as happens in unpruned plants. When each leaf is receiving maximum light energy from the sun, it will produce excess sugars that are used produce fruit.

[Tapout]

Originally Posted by venturabananas

Yes, we aren't communicating effectively! You emphasized diversion of energy from fruit production to leaf production in unpruned plants. My understanding of what goes on is that it's not really about transferring energy towards fruit production when you prune. It's more about allowing each energy producer (i.e., each leaf) to function at its maximum capacity, which can't happen if many leaves are shaded by other leaves, as happens in unpruned plants. When each leaf is receiving maximum light energy from the sun, it will produce excess sugars that are used produce fruit.

lmao where did I say that? omg ok I think you really need to re-read the pdf you linked. Lets go real slow now. I never said "You emphasized diversion of energy from fruit production to leaf production in unpruned plants". That statement is totally backwards. So that is one misunderstanding.

Now for your next statement. "My understanding of what goes on is that it's not really about transferring energy towards fruit production when you prune". Re-read the pdf you posted. Pruning does exactly the opposite of what you just said.

Your next statement I agree with. "It's more about allowing each energy producer (i.e., each leaf) to function at its maximum capacity, which can't happen if many leaves are shaded by other leaves, as happens in unpruned plants". There is a point where you have to prune so that the leaves are not shaded, but in the same breath prune all suckers and any leaders that don't meet your plan ie: 1 stem or 2 stem.

[Stvrob]

So should we prune to a single stem or not?

[venturabananas]

Originally Posted by Tapout

"...places more energy into the established fruit than new growth."

This is the part of what you wrote that I disagree with. It's probably just the way you worded it. What happens when you prune is that the leaves are not a shaded by other leaves on the plant, each leaf then is making more sugar via photosynthesis, and under those circumstances, the excess sugar is used for growing fruit in the vicinity of that leaf.

[venturabananas]

Originally Posted by Stvrob

So should we prune to a single stem or not?

I think it's worth doing for disease management and to allow you to grow more varieties in the same space. Personally, I don't care if each fruit reaches it's maximum potential size. More smaller fruit is fine by me.

[b54red]

Stvrob, I started pruning just for disease control. The more I experimented with it the more I learned about it. I find it difficult to use the single stem method during the drought times of late summer and early fall because of the intense heat at that time causing too much sunscald. The heavier pruning is also not as necessary for disease control during the really dry weather when the humidity drops down some. I'm sure some of the varieties with denser foliage would do fine with the Missouri pruning and single stem and I will probably try this on some of my fall tomatoes.

Almost every foliage disease seems to start when I get areas with the foliage too dense. I have found that I even do better pruning determinate varieties to a more open growth. Of course you can't prune them to the extent you do indeterminate plants or you would get too few fruits. I have found the more I crowd the plants in an effort to try more varieties the more I have to prune them.

The more I experiment with pruning the better I get at recognizing when it is necessary and how to best prune each individual plant. It seems that most plants even of the same variety have different growth patterns that have to be taken into consideration when pruning them. I was clueless at first and messed up quite a few plants. My biggest mistake was waiting too long to start pruning and not pruning aggressively enough when I did. The one good thing about making painful mistakes is you learn from them and tend to remember them better than what you learn from watching a video or reading a description of pruning. I figure by the time my health and or age make it impossible for me to garden anymore I'll be pretty good at it.

I wish every variety of tomato would lend itself to growing well as a single stem plant; but they don't. It would certainly make it easier because it is far less work to tie up a single stem plant and keep its growth controlled than one with multiple stems. They are also much easier to spray; but it takes consistent effort to stay on top of keeping the forks and suckers pruned to a single growing stem.

I would like to see more posts from other growers on which varieties they have had the best luck with when pruned to a single stem and which did very poorly when kept to a single stem.

Bill

[FILMNET]

I meet an old farmer a few years ago who have a small garden for tomatoes, he had a large stick in ground 6', he had plants around this stick for the 6'. Only cherry ones, i should have shot this to show , the plants were only 12" by 6'. He try the stems around the stick.

[zeroma]

...I would like to see more posts from other growers on which varieties they have had the best luck with when pruned to a single stem and which did very poorly when kept to a single stem.

Bill

I'll second that. Many of you do lots of pruning, down to 2 and 3 if not single stems. I love to read how it worked from you.

[mikej]

Interesting thread! I am on my 3rd serious crop of tomatoes. On my Brandywines last fall, I started off pruning, but then let it go. Though I had a lot of tomatoes, the foliar diseases caught up with me in the end. They got so bushy up top that once they grew higher than my 7' string they got so heavy they were falling over. Now on my Cherokee Purple, I am only going to allow at the most 4 stems. Will see how that works.