Many people pinch the shoots out from tomatoes, but not all gardeners remove the side shoots (or suckers as they are also called). I often don’t pinch them all out as I grow so many plants, but I do pinch some out as I am potting them on. It is only wise to remove them from the cordon types of tomato, as if you remove them from the bushy varieties, you will really reduce your harvest. The cordon type are the ones that will grow high and will need to be supported with canes or string.
WHY DO I NEED TO PINCH THE SHOOTS OUT?
If you leave your side shoots to grow, and don’t pinch them out, the plants may become very heavy, may become tangled, and could be hard to manage and control. They will take up a lot of space too. Pinching out all of the side shoots tends to result in larger fruit but can reduce your yield a little bit. The plant puts their energy into the fruit rather than into growing more foliage. If you have too many stems coming out of the plant it can also reduce the air to the plants and so increase the risk of disease.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH SHOOTS TO PINCH OUT?
The shoots that you pinch out are the ones that grow between the main, upright stalk and the branches (trusses). These often grow at a 45 degrees angle.
HOW DO I DO IT?
It is easier to pinch the shoots out when they are small. You can just nip your finger and thumb together, literally as if you are pinching something, at the base of the shoot on the stalk, and the shoots will come off really easily. If you haven’t checked them recently, or you only have time to do this once a week, they might be quite large before you remove them. This will make them harder to remove and you may need to use scissors or shears. Make sure that the scissor are sharp to avoid damaging your plant. It is a good idea to use an alcohol wipe on the scissors, or the shears, in between snipping different plants so that you don’t spread diseases.
The advantage of pinching shoots out when they are young is that it leaves less of a scar on the plant, and so there is less chance of disease attacking it.
WHEN SHOULD I PINCH MY SHOOT OUT?
Tomatoes grow really fast and so checking your plants at least twice a week and pinching out the shoots will help you keep on top of them. Doing this regularly also stops you stressing the plant as you are not removing too much foliage. You can remove the shoots even when the plants are small. Some people also pinch out the top of the plant that is growing upwards once the tomato has at least 5 or 6 trusses on it, especially later in the season. This helps the plant put all their energy into growing and ripening the fruit. Other gardener’s leave them until there are 7 or 8 trusses, as some varieties grow more quickly than others, and it depends how early you have sown and planted them. I wait quite late to pinch the top of my tomatoes out as I do not mind them being green at the end of the season as I just ripen the fruit using a banana and a brown paper bag.
WHAT CAN I DO WITH MY SHOOTS THAT I HAVE PINCHED OUT?
I add my shoots to the compost pile or bin, but the larger ones can apparently be planted into wet compost and will form new tomato plants. To be honest I have never tried this as I always sow too many tomato seeds.
I have always had very successful tomato harvests and I am not fastidious about pinching out the shoots. My plants probably look a bit more of a mess than some other gardeners, but any one that has followed me for long knows that I am a lazy gardener as my time is taken up doing other things, and so I take short cuts. I do often remove foliage as the tomatoes are ripening to allow more air flow and to speed up the ripening process. Do you pinch your shoots out and have you had any success planting the shoots?
I love tomatoes and have a little obsession with them. I usually sow plenty, thinking some will not germinate,some will be too leggy or weak .and every year they are all strong and survive, leaving me with 30-40 plants and no place in the house for anything else. Last year we got two cats, and they nibbled on my tomatoes, actually ate some of them, so this year I had much less as I had to keep them in the porch- the only place the cats don’t go in. I uave always pinched the side shoots, and the top when they get too big, maybe nit so much to get bigger fruit but simply to allow the air to circulate freely and the sunrise to reach all parts of the plant. I think it’s one of the reasons I never had tomato blight.that, and spraying them with garlic solution.
Yes I am lucky not to have blight too and I also sow too many. Most are from saved seed from the year before and an odd supermarket tomato. I water bath my tomatoes so that they last all year, or freeze them if I have room. Most of mine are in pots outside in the garden, with a few in the greenhouse. I have never tried the garlic solution on tomatoes but have used it on other things. I also like to plant basil nearby as it improves the taste of the tomato. There is nothing like home grown is there?
Absolutely. I served a homegrown tomato to a visiting teenager who only had them from a supermarket befire.he commented that it’s too….tomatoye….the ones from the shop don’t have flavour, why does mine has??? 😂
That made me smile. I didn’t like home grown lettuce at first as it tasted so green.
I pinch out the shoots and this year I missed some that got quite big. I have these in a watering can so they hopefully grow roots. Then I will pot them up and might try selling them as I have sold some spare plants and both people who came had grown plants and snails and slugs had eaten them all.
Thanks for sharing. I always sow too many tomatoes and so always have lots of tomatoes, but that is a good way to make some extra gardening money.
I had the mammoth task of pinching out shoots from 30 tomato plants at the community garden this morning. We grow them up strings attached to wire at the top of the poly tunnel, so need to keep the weight of the plant down a bit.
Good idea. I am a bit lazy with it when they get to a certain size. I wish we had a community garden that grew veg near us. I hope that you are enjoying your work there