Tomato with two main stems

catrionad21E8Ym3ES1 · May 2023

Good evening,

I noticed while doing the bedtime round of the garden that our tomato Black Opal, which is around two feet tall, has two main stems. I must have missed a side shoot. Should I cut off one of the stems or let it carry on with two? I try to be vigilant but every year this seems to happen and I’m never quite sure what to do for the best growth of lovely tomatoes.

fidgetbones · May 2023

It depends on how big it is and how much space you have. If you have room to put another cane in to tie it to, keep it. If its too tight, slice it off with a sharp knife. You need to keep a good air flow round it.

MikeOxgreen · May 2023

Read the recent tomato thread where this was covered.

Dovefromabove · June 2023

I think @MikeOxgreen is referring to the last post on the first page of this thread … https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1073916/has-anyone-tried-this-with-tomatoes/p1

war garden 572 · June 2023

pruning is not required or beneficial.

Blue Onion · June 2023

I find pruning of indeterminant tomatoes beneficial, in that it makes it easier to tie in the plant AND harvest fruit. I struggle with them towards the end of the season when I get behind and there are 'suckers' sprouting out everywhere.. I can't get to the ripe fruit in the dense jungle. I allow each of my cherry variety types to branch a few times while they are low and young, then keep them to that afterwards. I grow mine up a six foot fence panel, so plenty of tie in spots.

war garden 572 · June 2023

I find pruning of indeterminant tomatoes beneficial, in that it makes it easier to tie in the plant AND harvest fruit.

then you could use different tomato support system. that why is why americans

the tomato cage because it does not require tying in.

To the person who say tomato cages are a recent Idea.

i will point to the

The field and garden vegetables of America" 1865 p630

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t6639mp62&view=1up&seq=5

tui34 · June 2023

Hi @catrionad21E8Ym3ES1

If you cut off one stem you will reinforce the plant and get better fruit. Tomatoes are great plants - they just get on with it!!

On the other hand, if you leave the stem, you will have more laterals to cut off, the plant becomes too leafy and you are feeding too much foliage which in turn glean the nutrients from the fruit.

As a past market gardener, that stem would have been lopped and the plant kept neat and tidy for minimum disease.

Dovefromabove · June 2023

@wargarden … @Blue Onion is an American growing tomatoes in Utah. Please accept that there are different methods and techniques that are suitable for different weather conditions, varieties and circumstances. All are valid … there is rarely a ‘one size fits all’ solution in gardening.

In the UK we have a saying ‘horses for courses’ … there’s another saying ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat’.

Fairygirl · June 2023

We also grow indoors as well as outdoors in the UK, so it depends how much room you have to let tomatoes grow.
That's something else certain posters don't seem to understand - not everywhere is suitable for outdoor growing. Try doing it in Shetland, for example, and see how well it works...

Busy-Lizzie · June 2023

I have a tomato plant planted in my garden in SW France nearly the same size as yours which has forked into 2 stems, both the same size, not like a sideshoot. I am going to leave both of them. I will carry on removing the sideshoots as usual. I have done it before. Tomatoes sometimes do that. I will tie both to the steak but if one grows too far sideways I will give it a cane to tie it to.

Tomato with two main stems

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The field and garden vegetables of America" 1865 p630