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Tomatoes - pinching out
Bf206
Posts: 234
in Fruit & veg
I know this question's often asked... but when do you pinch out the tops of your plants?
My various vine tomato plants are generally 5 - 6 ft tall currently, with on average about four/five trusses with tomatoes on, starting to ripen now. clearly fresh flowers are still coming too but, realistically - even with warm temperatures now forecast in the SE of England for the next few weeks - should I pinch out so the plant concentrates on the fruit already there?
Also, do you pinch out black russians? the fruit on these seems somewhat more randomly spread, not in obvious trusses, plus the stems have divided into two and three some cases so there are potentially several tops to pinch out.
thanks all!
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Posts
At this late stage of the season, pinching out the growing tips isn't going to make a lot of difference. Any more fruit that sets won't have time to mature and the existing fruit that is starting to ripen needs nothing more than warm temperatures.
ok cool. well, if the forecast is right and it'll be warm for the next few weeks, hopefully that'll ripen everything!
A bit grumpy as I was snipping off yellowing leaves off my pink brandywine and cut off one of the still rebarbatively green fruits.
If not ripe by weekend (currently snuggling up to very ripe bananas in kithchen) guess it'lll be fried green tomatoes with saturday breakfast.
Oh no! I've done that. And snapped entire branches by twisting off fruit because I was too lazy to go and get the secateurs.
If it has started to change from its dark green it will ripen inside. Give it time, even a couple of weeks. It would be a shame to turn a Pink Brandywine into a fried breakfast!
Hopefully this late warm spell in the UK will do the job tho?
It's your best chance. Temperature is the key. Ultimately, though, you can always ripen them inside. In fact if the temp drops to about 15C outside, it's by far the best bet. Given that it's warmer than that inside. Providing they've begun the change from their dark green they should only take a couple of weeks to ripen.
And a tip: for the larger varieties, sit them on their shoulders.
right, thanks. i'm half wondering whether to bin the romas and just leave the fruit outside to ripen? the plants are now something of a mess. i'd just about kept them going after a bout of fungus but then was away for a week and didn't arrange for anyway to do the watering - although was some rain - and they're pretty gnarled now.