Formation of tomatoes in open ground

Growing tomatoes in the open field has its own secrets and rules. One of the important steps is the formation of a bush or pinching lateral shoots. Not all summer residents use the pinching method, as a result, either the crop does not have time to ripen, or the rows of tomatoes thicken too much and start to hurt.

Why is it necessary to pinch the lateral shoots on tomato bushes, how to correctly pinch a tomato in the open field, and how the formation methods depend on the type of plant and its variety – all in this article.

What is pinching

The tomato bush is very branched, new shoots, leaves, flowers and ovaries constantly appear on it. Stepsons are usually called vegetative (sleeping) buds, which are located in the axils of the leaves. Until a certain point, these buds usually dormant, but as soon as the tomato throws out all the ovaries and begins to form fruits, additional shoots begin to grow from these buds.

As a result, full-fledged lateral stems with flowers and ovaries are obtained from stepchildren. It would seem that what is wrong here, because an increase in the number of fruits is only in the hands of the gardener?

But not all so simple. A large number of inflorescences and ovaries does not at all indicate an increase in yield. Even, on the contrary: extra stepchildren reduce the quality of fruits and interfere with their ripening.

The harm from stepchildren on tomatoes is as follows:

• reduce productivity;
• contribute to the reduction in the size of all fruits;
• stretch the ripening period of tomatoes;
• thicken plantings, lead to a strong foliage of the bush, which leads to the development of infections and diseases of tomatoes;
• too many fruits can lead to breakage of the shoots;
• they take away from the plant the forces it needs for the full ripening of the first fruits;
• lead to deformation and strong growth of bushes.

As a result, non-stemmed tomato bushes set a large number of fruits, but these tomatoes do not have time to ripen before the onset of autumn cold weather, since the plant does not have enough strength for such a crop volume. The gardener will receive a bush with green and small fruits by autumn.

Is it always necessary to remove side shoots on tomatoes?

The formation of tomatoes in the open field is not always necessary; the stepping procedure should be carried out more carefully in greenhouses. The fact is that domestic gardeners, as a rule, plant early ripe determinant tomato varieties in open ground.

Determinate varieties of tomatoes are characterized by the fact that after the appearance of a certain number of ovaries on the bushes (usually from three to seven), the growth of lateral shoots stops automatically. In this way, tomatoes do not need to be shaped and controlled – as many stepchildren will grow on the bushes as required to ensure a normal harvest.

However, this applies only to super-early or early determinant varieties, the ripening of fruits on which ends in the middle of summer. The climate of most regions of Our Country is such that it begins to rain and the temperature drops already in August, while in September there may be the first frosts.

In such climatic conditions, tomatoes do not ripen, they can only start to hurt and drop their ovaries along with green fruits. Therefore, among the gardeners of the country there is an unspoken rule: “Only those tomatoes that have formed before the first of August will have time to ripen.” What to do with the rest of the shoots and inflorescences? They must be removed or broken off, that is, pinched. This is the stepping of tomatoes in the open field for varieties with limited growth (determinant).

Indeterminate tomato varieties have such a feature: stepchildren and additional shoots on the bushes are constantly formed, the main stem also does not stop its growth. To control the number of fruits and form a bush, you have to constantly pinch the shoots of such tomatoes.

Massively stepchildren begin to appear when 5-7 ovaries are formed on the bushes (depending on the variety). From now on the gardener needs to periodically, once every 7-10 days, inspect tomato bushes and break off the shoots.

The scheme for the formation of indeterminate tomatoes in the open field is somewhat different from the pinching of determinant varieties. In this case, pinching not only the lateral processes under the leaves of tomatoes, you also need to break off the tops of the main stems. If this is not done, the bush will continue to grow upwards, simultaneously forming inflorescences and ovaries – all this weakens the plant and inhibits the ripening of fruits.

Today, breeders have bred many varieties of tomatoes that, in general, do not form stepchildren.. This, of course, greatly facilitates the care of the beds – such tomatoes can be planted and wait for the harvest, only by regularly watering the bushes.

These varieties include superdeterminant and hybrid tomatoes. These species are “programmed” to form a certain number of ovaries, after which the growth of the bushes stops.

How to remove stepchildren

Proper pinching of tomatoes not only ensures an early harvest and large fruits, the health of the whole plant directly depends on this.

Here are a few rules that a gardener should follow:

1. The formation of tomatoes in the open field is carried out in the morning. It is in the morning that the tomato bushes are maximally saturated with moisture, the stems are elastic and fragile, so the stepson will break off more easily, and the trauma to the plant will be minimal. In addition, before the end of the day and before the onset of a cold, wet night, the tomato will have enough time for the wounds to heal and dry out – the risk of infection of the stepchildren’s broken places is minimal.
2. The optimal time for removing stepchildren from a tomato is when the length of the shoots is from three to five centimeters. Such shoots have not yet had time to take a lot of strength from the bush of tomatoes, the place of their break will be hardly noticeable, the wound will be small. It is better not to break off larger shoots, if the gardener missed them or did not have time to remove them at a “young” age, you need to pinch the tops of these shoots.
3. It is best to cut the stepchildren by hand, but it is recommended to wear rubber gloves so as not to infect the wounds. The stepson is clamped with two fingers and swayed a little from side to side, gradually breaking off.
4. If a knife or scissors is used to remove stepchildren, it is necessary to monitor the sharpness of the blades – they must be very thin in order to injure the tomatoes less. After processing each bush, the blade is disinfected with any agent (for example, a one percent solution of potassium permanganate).
5. Do not throw tattered stepchildren of a tomato on the ground, they can become a source of infection. The sprouts must be collected and thrown away from the garden.
6. The point of development of tall tomatoes is pinched in the same way as the side shoots. Under the place of the cliff, 3-4 sheets must be left.

An approximate scheme for pinching a tomato is shown in the photo below.

How to form tomatoes in the open field

The method or scheme for the formation of tomato bushes depends on several factors at once:

• plant type (determinant or indeterminate);
• varieties of tomato (with a stop of development or not);
• tomato ripening speed;
• weather conditions (in cloudy and cool summers, even determinant varieties run the risk of not having time to give the entire crop, so the bushes are “thinned out” a little, removing several stepchildren);
• climatic features of the region (if in the southern regions even indeterminate varieties can bear fruit until November, then in the northern part of the country only those ovaries are left that managed to take shape in the first half of summer);
• the requirements of the gardener himself: for some, the number of fruits is important, while for others, the quality and size of tomatoes are a priority.

If the owner of the site puts yield in the first place, it is necessary to grow tomatoes in several stems.

Formation of tomatoes in one stalk

The method of growing tomatoes in one stem is most often used in greenhouse conditions, but it can also be used in open ground, especially when tall indeterminate varieties are planted.

This principle obliges the gardener to remove absolutely all stepchildren, leaving only one central stem.. As a result, only a certain number of ovaries will be formed, which is regulated by the tomato variety.

The complexity of the method lies in the fact that you have to constantly monitor the state of the bush and remove new shoots in a timely manner. In addition, the formation in one stem dramatically reduces the total number of fruits – there will be 3-5 ovaries on the bushes.

This method is suitable for those who grow early tomatoes for sale, because the plant, not weakened by stepchildren, throws all its forces into the ripening of the first (and last) fruits. It is possible to get a harvest 10-14 days earlier, and the cost of tomatoes, as you know, is very high during this period. In addition, the fruits will be large and beautiful.

Formation of tomatoes in two stalks

Much more often, domestic gardeners use the methods of forming bushes into several stems, because this way it is possible to increase the yield of tomatoes.

In order to get two trunks on the bushes, it is necessary to remove all stepchildren, leaving only the one that is located under the very first brush. This side shoot will become a full-fledged stem, almost as many fruits will ripen on it as on the central stem.

Thus, it will be possible to almost double the tomato yield, while the rate of their ripening will be slightly less than in the first case. The tomatoes themselves can also turn out to be somewhat smaller than if the bush was formed into only one stem.

Formation of bushes in three stems

This is the most optimal option for the formation of tomato bushes, which is why it is most often used when growing tomatoes in open ground.

To complete the formation of a bush in three stems, it is necessary to determine the central shoot, select the first ovary. Now it remains to follow the formation of leaves, below this ovary: you need to leave stepchildren growing from the axils of the first and second leaves after the ovary.

Since the leaves on the tomatoes appear alternately, the stepsons left should be directed in opposite directions – this will preserve the shape and balance of the bush (as in the photo).

The formation of tomatoes in three stems allows you to get the maximum yield, the fruits will be quite large and ripe. Only in the northern regions or in some areas of the middle lane, a few unripe fruits may remain on the bushes. In this case, green tomatoes are plucked and left to ripen in a dry and warm place (for example, on a windowsill).

Results

Having heard about the stepson of a tomato and the formation of bushes into several stems, you do not need to immediately rush to your seedlings with scissors. It is far from necessary to remove and pinch the shoots in every case; this procedure is mandatory only for indeterminate varieties with uncontrolled growth. In other cases, the gardener must independently decide on the need for pinching, based on the condition of the plants, the number of ovaries on them and the weather conditions in their region.

You can learn more about pinching a tomato in the open field from the video: