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Pruning the bottom part of tomatoes

OlpallixOlpallix Posts: 13
in Fruit & veg
hello all :)
i am pruning my tomato plant. All the suckers as explained everywhere on the net. But the issue I have and can’t find an answer to is the bottom parts of the plant. I have one main stem and 3 other largeish ones. Do I cut them
The reds are of shoots and blue is main I gather  many thanks :) 
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Posts

  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Hello @Olpallix  Yes, indeed!  Cut those laterals off.  They are using up all the nutrients.  If they are big and have flowers on them, just close your eyes and cut, cut, cut!  Your plant will thank you for it!!  Good luck.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    The red ones!!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • OlpallixOlpallix Posts: 13
    😢😢😢 lol
    ok will do!! Thanks for the advice
    ol
  • OlpallixOlpallix Posts: 13
    edited June 2020
    The deed has been done. Had flowers on em too.  Thanks for the reassurance. 

    No idea why pic is upside down. It’s ok in my album? 

  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    The tomato plant is one of the few plants that will regrow if you cut something off by mistake.  If you cut the main stem off at the top (which I have done by mistake) - a regrowth will appear on each side.      Keep pinching out the laterals as they grow and regrow all the time. 

    Those plants will away like the clappers now!!!!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • OlpallixOlpallix Posts: 13
    Thanks Tuiko!!! :)
    how long before I get tomatoes from a flower usually?
    also. I remember a long time ago. My father had tomatoes and they were terrible. Felt like they were all over watered. Because they had water forming under the skin? Would over watering be the reason for this?
    theres a place in France where you can get these super tough seeds to grow in tough conditions. They have been grown arduously for years to withstand drought. If you are interested I’ll try and find out from my friend who told me about it. I never got them cause they where based in France but they do ship. They had all sorts of veg and types. 
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    If things don't go pear shaped with the weather, I think I'm doing ok if I'm picking main crop ( Alicante, Gardeners Delight) by end of July, where I am, but cherry toms could be this month.
  • OlpallixOlpallix Posts: 13
    Excellent. Nothing better than eating your own!!! Happy pickling!! :)
  • The-Greenfingered-JoinerThe-Greenfingered-Joiner Posts: 14
    Sorry to jump in but after 4 fruiting trusses have formed is it a good idea to cut the top off? Also is it ok to cut off branches below first (lowest) fruiting truss? Thanks 
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    edited June 2020
    Depends what variety you have, and how tall you can let them grow. I have six trusses on one Alicante,  which is now ready for its top cutting as its reached the greenhouse roof. 
     The lower leaves @The-Greenfingered-Joiner tend to be damaged by watering, so removing them up to the first truss is fine.
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