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Tomato is a very popular, incredibly healthy and very nutritious plant. Both open and closed ground, suitable for its cultivation. Tomato is a very painful culture that needs care. The perfect scheme for growing tomatoes has not yet been invented, but when growing tomatoes in the open field, it is important to remember that you need to deal with pest plants that take moisture and nutrients from your expensive tomatoes. One of the necessary “treatment procedures” is pinching – the removal of all excess side shoots that grow from the axils of the leaves. Read more about how to stepson tomatoes in the open field, read below.
Why do you need to stepchild?
As you know, a tomato is a plant that can grow wildly. So that the nutrients do not “feed” the excess greens, but are distributed only between the fruits, pinching is used: young unnecessary shoots are removed. Then the fruit will ripen earlier, and the harvest will be better. You can, of course, not tear off additional stems at all, but in this case, the yield will depend on external conditions and the variety. 
When the first fruits appear, the increase in green vegetation decreases, but at the same time each tomato pours more slowly, and the tomatoes turn out to be smaller than we were promised.
When and how?
In such a sensitive matter, it is important to choose the right time, since the later stepson of a tomato no longer makes sense. So, first of all, you need to distinguish the stepson from the sheet. In principle, even an inexperienced gardener can do this. You carefully examine the bush, find a leaf, and if there is an escape between it and the trunk – congratulations, this is a stepson. Usually the stepson grows under the first flower brush. When the shoot has reached 3-5 cm, it means that the ideal time has come for the procedure. At this time, the plant will not experience stress, and it will hurt less.
Try not to leave hemp on the trunk after pinching, as all kinds of infections and viruses can develop in them.
Tomato pinching scheme (tomato)
And also, in order to prevent the spread of diseases from one bush to another, break out the stepson so that the juice does not get on your hands. It is better to pinch on a warm sunny morning, so that by the evening the wound heals faster. It is also important to know that a certain variety dictates its own rules.
Despite the abundance of varieties, tomatoes can be divided into three groups: determinant (including standard), semi-determinant and indeterminate. They differ in external indicators and productivity. Also, it is customary to form such bushes in different ways.
A tall indeterminate tomato and its hybrids are subjected to the simplest shaping method. The bush is organized into one stem, removing all stepchildren. By August, get a crop of 5-6 tomato brushes. If you regret cutting the bush, then it will be of little use. A huge spreading bush will grow, with strong side shoots. The open ground on which the fruits will lie is not the best place for a ripe tomato. And on top of the bush, too, do not wait for the results. The correct action of a gardener is to stepson a tomato without sparing!
When forming semi-determinant varieties, look for the strongest shoots, leave 2-3 stems and a stepchild under the first flower brush. If necessary, leave another one a little higher. Such a variety, as a rule, stops its growth (topping). Therefore, do not rush to stepson it until you are sure that the main stem is no longer growing.
The determinant and standard variety is usually undersized. As soon as a certain number of brushes are tied, the tomato stops growing. If you grow such a variety in one stem, the yield will be very low. Therefore, master gardeners recommend forming determinant varieties in 3-4 stems.
In the greenhouse
In the greenhouse, pinching is used to increase the fruiting time and collect as much crop as possible from a small area. To get a ripe tomato in a short time, you need to choose a determinant variety. In such plants, only one stem is retained, but a reserve shoot is left under the first inflorescence to continue. When a pair of inflorescences appears on it, they pinch it, that is, remove the top of the head to stop growth. In order for the plants to develop better, they are stepson every 5-7 days. Leaves are also removed. When forming medium and high tomatoes, a spare shoot is not needed. But tying the stem will be very useful. A low-growing bush does not need tying.
In open ground
Experienced gardeners know that only those fruits that set before the first of August will have time to grow and ripen. No matter how sorry we are, all other shoots, even long and flowering ones, must be removed. There are two ways to pinch a tomato:
- One time at the end of July/beginning of August. Remove all unnecessary shoots, leaving 2-3 leaves above the fruit.
- Regular pinching once a week or once every 10 days. If you form a bush in one stem, then keep the main shoot, if two – add to it a stepchild from a leaf under the first inflorescence, if three – add the next one.
What varieties can not stepchild?
As it turned out, stepson tomatoes correctly, oh, how not easy. Especially if you are a beginner summer resident, or simply do not have a certain amount of time. But do not rush to get upset! There are a large number of varieties of tomatoes that do not need to carry out this procedure. All you need is open ground and skillful hands. Skillful gardeners advise choosing varieties of Siberian selection, as they are designed to grow in cold climates. 
You can grow and not stepson the following varieties: tomato Nevsky, Gnome, Oak, Chio-chio-san, tomato Comet, Rocket, Mars, Amber, Ladyfingers, Buyan, Moskvich, Little Red Riding Hood, Snowdrop. You will get a short, fairly early shrub.
No matter how you decide to grow tomatoes using a greenhouse or open ground, with or without pinching, in any case, I wish you an excellent harvest!
Video “Staging a tomato”
Video about what types of tomatoes how to stepson (or not stepson). Formation options in one, two or three stems in the greenhouse.
