Some gardeners recommend you “pinch off” the flowers on your tomato transplants during their first weeks of growth, claiming that removing early blossoms: Directs more energy into establishing a strong root system. Results in a larger, sturdier, and potentially healthier tomato plant.
Don't remove flowers. The plant will continuously grow and produce both vegetative growth and flowers/fruit throughout its life (if it's indeterminate).
Early/mid-season
Remove flowers until plants are 12 to 18 inches tall, so plants can direct more energy to the roots. Remove all leafy suckers beneath the first fruit cluster so they won't slow the development of the fruit.
Check all the leaf axils of the tomato plant from top to bottom, so you do not miss any. Removing these side shoots is a process called pinching out.
Remove tomato “suckers”
Suckers can grow and produce fruit, but the plant is actually better off when you remove almost all of them, leaving only 2 to 3 main growing leaders. Too many leaders gives you a plant that is too thick to allow good air movement, which will contribute to diseases later on in the season.
Some are pink when fully ripe, while others are yellow, burgundy-black, striped, and even still green when ripe. You can't judge strictly based on time, either. The longer you wait to pick, the more chance that your fruits will split, develop soft spots, or end up overripe, mushy and quick to rot.
However many days it takes for the flower to turn into a green fruit, that is how many days it's going to take for this fruit to completely ripen. I've found most flowers turn into full-size fruit in 15 to 20 days, which means those little tomatoes are going to take another 15 to 20 days before they ripen.
Prune off about a third of the leaves (and flowers, if any are present) at the top of the plant, removing the newest, smallest leaves. This will stimulate the plant to branch out lower on the stem, and eventually to produce flowers and fruit throughout its height.
Water correctly: Do not overwater. The first week tomato plants are in the ground, they need water every day, but back off watering after the first week, slowly weaning the plants down to 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week.
You don't have to do anything for now, when you start seeing tomatoes you may want to fertilize though. You could pinch off the flowers and let the plants energy go to producing more foliage if you want.
Don't pick too many leaves from a plant at one time.It scares the plant and it does not like that. Far better is to prune 2 to 3 leaves regularly (like once a week).
Despite being one of the most popular home crops, tomatoes have their share of sensitivities. They are extremely reactive to dips or increases in temperature, insufficient or excess irrigation, improper fertilization and pollination. All these can result in a plant that blooms but never fruits.
As tomato plants start to mature several weeks after planting, they produce small yellow flowers that are followed by tiny green berries that eventually grow and ripen into the juicy red orbs that make tomatoes America's most popular home garden crop. At least that's what's supposed to happen.
Insufficient light
Coupled with this, maintaining a suitable temperature between 70°F to 85°F during the day and 60°F to 70°F at night is essential. Without these conditions, your tomato plants might bloom with flowers but disappointingly might not bear fruit.
Some growers prefer to use a high-phosphorus fertilizer, indicated by a larger middle number. You can also keep things simple with a fertilizer especially formulated for tomatoes – usually with a ratio like 3-4-6 or 4-7-10. Most importantly, don't over-fertilize. Too little fertilizer is always better than too much.
Healthy tomato plants look healthy. Healthy tomato plants should display soft, leaves with medium to dark shades of green with solid stems.
Color is an indicator of ripeness and flavor, but the shade is important. "Some yellow heirlooms, for example, look ripe when they are yellow, but their best flavor is usually found when they turn bright gold," Jonas says. Know the mature color of the tomato you are growing.
Ripening off the vine extends harvest, quality with no taste difference. Home gardeners should pick tomatoes sooner than later. There is a common misconception among the public and home gardeners that vine-ripened tomatoes taste better.