A dear friend, who also happens to be my daughter-in-law's mother, is a volunteer at a museum where she works with a master gardener and has been learning a lot. What an amazing opportunity! She recently told me that the master gardener told her to remove the bottom sets of leaves from her tomatoes. This was news to me so I did a little digging - and here's what I've learned.
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| Moneymaker and Bonny Best with their lower leaves removed |
Indeterminate - or vine - tomatoes: When the plant has developed a bit, it's suggested that you remove the leaves below the first truss of flowers. The rationale behind this is that rain splashes on the ground and can put dirt on the leaves which might pass on disease. This isn't so much of a problem in my garden as I have mulch over the dirt. Then let 4 or 5 stems grow up and pinch off all other shoots. I guess I've been doing this by being haphazard in my pruning! Quite accidental, I assure you. This way, you get better production but limit the stress on the plant. As the plants get older, some of the lower leaves may yellow and those can be picked off. I'd have to think before I put these leaves in the compost as they might be yellow because of disease. Diseased plant growth should never be put in a compost bin.
Determiniate - or bush - tomatoes: Allow all shoots to grow but remove any on the inside of the plant. Leaves here will not receive enough sunshine to benefit the plant and may actually sap the plant. This makes sense to me as that's what you do with fruit trees - keeping the center open to allow air flow is healthy for the tree.
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| Gold Nugget in high gear |
And of course, as fall approaches which would be 2 or 3 weeks before your first expected frost date, pinch off the tops of all shoots so the plant can put all its energy into producing lovely tomatoes. And always provide some sort of support to tomatoes - never let them lie on the ground.
And it's just so true - there's always something new to be learned! Thanks Trish!
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