My tendency is to pick off
>a lot of the leaves on the peppers thinking it will promote putting
>energy into the fruit? I am going about it on a experimental basis at
>this point, which I enjoy, but was wondering how others handle it. >The peppers are:
>California Wonder
>Serrano's
>Jalepeno's
>Cayanne
>Giant Italians
>Pepperocini's (sp)
>
>Tomatoes:
>Roma's
>Italian Paste
>
I don't prune either peppers or tomatoes - it's possible I'd get more fruit if I did: since I don't do it, I have no basis for comparison. But we seem to get plenty of each (if they ever ripen this year, that is). Usually we get plenty of each.
Home-grown seedlings always look healthier to me. I think maybe you just weren't used to healthy, stocky, bushy young plants.
Pat, Thanks for the reply, that makes us feel good. We just came in from harvesting and the peppers plants are looking fantastic but not a ton of fruit, I am not sure it has been hot enough here (WV) this year for them to really get crankin'. The tomatoes however are going off like gangbusters. We just moved here and this is the first year for this ground so they are a bit small but still very very healthy and producing lots of fruit. Like I said, I was moreso concerned with the peppers but it could just be the weather.
Mark, Just lop off excessive suckers on the 'maters. I have an unusual garden (mostly vertical in my 280 sq ft of raised boxes) and permit 3-4 stal ks per vine. Others allow 2-3. I might recommend you give Mortgage Lifter a try next year. I am f inding that they are an almost solid beefsteak ... never seen anything den ser in my life (except for some of my co-workers and all of management) . Very small seeds, very small seed cavities, huge tomatoes on thick vines. Prolific ... I have several clusters of 6 or more tomatoes and L OTS of 'lone wolves'.
I'm in the Eastern Panhandle of WV Mark and quite frankly the weather doesn't seem to be helping my peppers along much either. I got mine in the ground somewhat late I would say, I believe it was June 1st. A friend of mine closer to the VA line had her's in the ground much earlier and they are stunted. Mine are far taller than her's already but no peppers of any kind yet. I have a mix of Bells and Hots. The hots have turned into almost a stubby bush, the others having broader leaves giving them a different look. But no peppers yet.
As to pruning I personally do not. I could see how some might for the sake of controlling thier plants, particularly tomatoes. I am not speaking from practise, but personally I'm not sure the logic holds up on the idea of pruning allows more energy for fruit. While having less leaves could mean more of the plants focus goes to the fruit, it could also mean the plant is spending some of its energy on regrowing new leaves past a point where it normally would. Also when we speak of the plant's energies it would seem to me since that energy comes from the sun, and is taken in through the leaves, the plant would have more energy to spend if its able to take in more energy at once, i.e. more foilage. This is just me speculating, others with more experience can always give more input, and you can decide for yourself which is best. My own take is that nature knows what it is doing, and it's best to allow the plant to follow whatever course has been instilled in it...
I don't always agree (think of pruning fruit trees), but in the case of tomatoes, I've always thought that caging them is much easier than pruning and tieing. If it results in a bit less fruit - although I'm not sure of this - the ease and convenience of not-pruning has always seemed worth it to me.
BUT: next year, I'll probably be growing them in a hoophouse and space will be at a premium, so I'll prune them and grow them up strings or nets, or something vertical.
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