Tomato blossoms

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

My tomatos are blossoming and they've only been in the pots a few weeks. I'm wondering if I should pinch 'em off.
The plants are still tiny only a foot or so high.

My Spruce trees are producing more cones than I have ever seen. Another odd note. It's like there's hundreds maybe thousands per bough.

[Dennis Peacock]

Cliff,

I'd definately pinch them off and allow the plants to get larger before they are allowed to produce fruit. The plants are a tad young yet.

[Rob Will]

Cliff,
When container grown plants start to become root bound, they go into reproductive mode. You might want to re-pot them and let them grow a bit. As Dennis suggested, pinch the blooms off for now.
Rob

[Glenn Clabo]

Cliff...
Pinching first blooms is one of those questions I've asked about...done...not done. The results are varied...and most will stand by what ever they decide to do as gospel. Here's my take and fwiw the local farmers/growers...don't pinch them off. You are just reducing your yield by those many fruit. The first fruit to form is always the largest and earliest. Now for 'suckering' tomatoes which what people mean when they remove the shoot that appears between the stem of the tomato and the leaf. Within this right angle of stem and leaf, a shoot will appear. Pinching off the one closest to the ground and the next one above it is often done to increase the size of the tomatoes. The removal of two suckers is generally enough. Leave the rest of them to provide additional fruit and much needed shade to the tomato fruits in late summer.
Of course...like most things...people will of course disagree with all the above.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

They are all in huge pots. I hung most of 'em potted in good soil with organics and fertilizer in upside down joint-compound buckets (painted green). a few more in on large-ish pots that'll hold 'em for their life.

So I got a "pinch 'em" and I got a "don't pinch 'em."

Hmmm decisions ~ ~ decision

[Belinda Barfield]

I'm throwing in with the "pinch 'em" team. Let the plant get a little stronger before it starts to bear.

[Joe Mioux]

Speaking as someone who germinates, transplants and sells them; it's probably better to pinch off the blooms if they are starting to bloom in the pots or in the first few weeks or transplanting into the garden.

This means that the plants were in the greenhouse and garden center pretty long. The size container will impact when some of these tomatoes will start to bloom.

Now, if you don't take off the bloom..... ????

The tomato will still grow and will still bear fruit all season, as long as the temps don't get too hot.

Sugar Snack ( small round tomatoes) will continue bearing fruit when the others quit.

My personal favorites are Big Beef, Sugar Snack, Jetstar, Better Boy, San Marzano (Roma style) and Lemon Boy.

joe

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I got on GardenWeb and found that there is a real diversity of opinion on this subject some of the with competition growers on both sides of the question.

The pinchers are saying: "Save the plant's energy an pinch, it's probably pot bound from the hot house and needs to develop a root base." ( paraphrased)

The non pinchers are saying: "Let it go they will develop and progress just fine I never pinch and don't see any problems with plant debvelopment."

Then there are the people think that hanging your plants upside down (as I have done) means that you don't have to remove the suckers, that the suckers are feeding the plant because they are green and producing chloraphil and eating sunlight. They say that Pinching the suckers is needed only if you are tying the plants up.

[Michael McCoy]

At least pinching suckers/blossoms stays considerably more civil than some of the table saw discussions. I'm among those that doesn't think it makes any difference. I started last season pinching every other one and found they all started producing at the same time. I didn't keep track of output for the rest of the season so I couldn't tell if it made any difference long term. It's so hot here that you just about have t start a second crop in July and August if you want any fall tomatoes.

[Mark Springer]

Its a matter of personal preference. Why don't you experiment. Pinch some but not others, That way you can do a side by side comparison and decide what works best for you.

[Belinda Barfield]

It's so hot here that you just about have t start a second crop in July and August if you want any fall tomatoes.

Yeah, but if you're lucky and we don't have an early cold "snap" you can have fresh tomatoes at Thanksgiving.

I wish my grandfather had believed that suckering makes no difference, then I wouldn't have spent as much time in the tobacco patch.

[Michael McCoy]

Yeah, but if you're lucky and we don't have an early cold "snap" you can have fresh tomatoes at Thanksgiving.

There is always fried green tomatoes and when that first frost comes, everything goes into paper bags and stored to slowly ripen.

[Randy Cohen]

don't pinch...not all blossoms will develop fruit and by time 2 months go by and you get a ripe tomato off the plant it will have grown substantially.

[Scott Loven]

It was 23F this morning, it will be another 2-3 weeks before I think about putting out tomato's!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

It was 23F this morning, it will be another 2-3 weeks before I think about putting out tomato's!

I'm in Joieezee and indeed the night after I hung mine we had a frost warning. I tented and tarped 'em and put a low wattage lamp in the tarp.