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Should I remove some leaves on the Toms
Sheps
Posts: 2,236
in Fruit & veg
Hi everyone...my Toms are doing pretty well at the moment, but have I reached a point where the Toms would do even better if I lost some of the lower leaf stems?
Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks
Sheps...
0
Posts
Why?
The leaves are the lungs of the plant, remove them and the plant dies
I think you could pinch the tops out to stop them getting taller
Last edited: 12 July 2017 18:35:11
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Hi Pete...the reason why I asked was that some of the lower leaves are starting to curl up, not to any great degree, but they have looked better and some of the leaves do cover the toms blocking out the sun.
I will do as advised and pinch out the tops.
Thanks for the help.
Sheps...
Sheps, you can safely remove any lower leaves that are shading the trusses - your tomatoes look fabulous by the way. This removal does two things - exposing the ripening tomatoes to the sun and creating a better airflow around the plants.
As Pete says, now you have all the trusses you want, do pinch out the growing tips.
I'd agree with LB. They look great, and a few rough leaves are normal. I think you could easily remove a few, but you could also just leave them as they don't look to me like they're covering the fruits. It's really just a judgement you have to make. Either way, I don't think it would be a problem. I always remove masses of mine once the fruit sets - and not just at the base. They're redundant at that point. I always have to grow them undercover anyway (they'd never survive outside with the low overnight temps here ) but it's air flow in a green house that's most important at that point anyway, so too much foliage is a hindrance.
Mine usually looked pretty poor by the time fruit was starting to ripen. Haven't grown any this year, but I think yours look terrific. Happy eating
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks for the advice LB and Fairy, it's appreciated and I'm pleased you like the Toms, this is the first time I've tried to grow some, so I'm quite pleased with them so far.
I will remove some of the leaves that are blocking out the sun, though on further inspection, most of these seem to be higher up the plants near the smaller set fruit, so I'll wait till the toms get a bit bigger before sorting those.
Plants have now been pinched out, so hopefully all the plants energy will go into the toms.
Thanks once again for the help
You are most welcome.
Leaves are a lot more important than direct sun exposure for swelling and ripening the fruit. There's no way I'd remove any from these two plants.
Those leaves look as though they are functioning OK. Why do you want to remove them? Tomatoes do not need to see the sun to ripen. I am never sure why the tomato has been singled out for defoliation. Is there any other plant that is messed around with so much?
Completely agree Welshonion.
I remove any manky leaves and any that touch the ground, then I leave well alone until towards the end of the season when all the fruits have developed. Only then do I start removing some leaves
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Hi everyone....being a complete novice when it comes to growing Toms, I was under the impression ( formed before this post ) that Toms needed sunlight to ripen, it looks like I might have been wrong.
Hi Pete...with regards to developed fruits, should I wait until the top fruits are as large as the bottom ones before thinking about removing some of the lower leaves?