Tomato beginner

[anthony123hopki]

Hi

I have planted tomatoes for the first time this year. Four Ailsa Craigs and two Alicante's. Both seem to be doing well, and are starting to show some nice (still green) fruit.

I have a few questions though:

1) Every plant has two stems though. I have removed every sideshoot that i saw that grew at the junction of the main stem and leaf. The second stem does not originate from this place, but rather comes out of the main stem nowhere near a leaf. How do you identify these stems?

2) Given that I have now nipped out the growth point as each plant had 6 trusses, will the plant continue to produce new trusses and flowers throughout the summer now that it will no longer grow upwards, or are the one's they have now it?

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

[Pat Kiewicz]

That happens sometimes. Usually, though, the side stems come at a leaf node. I've even seen the end of a truss start to grow as if it were a stem.

Normally, I always let at least one side shoot grow, sometimes two, on my staked tomatoes. More foliage is better (protects the fruit from sun scald) and you can always remove trusses if you think they are going to go to waste.

It won't form any new trusses unless another terminal shoot takes off. It might be good to allow some shoot close to the base of the plant to grow up--fresh foliage to feed and shelter the developing fruit, new trusses for late-season insurance.