Indeterminate tomatoes can have from one to as many as four stems. The fewer the stems, the fewer but larger the fruit, and the less room the plant needs in the garden. For a multi-stemmed plant, let a second stem grow from the first node above the first fruit.
Trellised tomatoes can be trained to one or two leaders. One leader is most commonly recommended. If you are keeping one leader, remove all suckers (new shoots that develop in the leaf axils). If you are keeping two leaders, save the sucker just below the first flower cluster.
Tomatoes don't like their roots dry, so it's best to water them every day, they will also benefit from a weekly dose of liquid fertilizer.
Also the lower leaves tend to get powdery mildew so it is good to remove them to stop disease spreading.
Topping also allows the plant to send it its energy into the leaves and ripening fruit below, rather than making new leaves and new fruit late in the season. In terms of maximum fruit production over the season, I don't think it matters whether you choose to top & prune out suckers or pinch out the next blossoms.
Plants are usually ready to prune once they reach 12 to 18 inches in height.
To grow the strongest tomato plant possible, prune side stems below the first fruit cluster. As a tomato plant matures, its lower leaves begin to yellow. Pinch or prune yellowed leaves to prevent disease, improve the tomato plant's appearance, and help the plant keep its energy focused on fruit production.
With large-fruited tomato varieties such as ox-heart and beef tomatoes, however, the side shoots should be removed. Even with medium-sized indeterminate tomatoes, we recommend only leaving a maximum of two to three shoots, including the main shoot.
When you water, do not wet the plant leaves. Wet leaves invite infections that can cause your plant leaves to spot, yellow and wilt before the plant has a chance to produce any of the tasty tomatoes that you are so anxiously anticipating. Water early in the day.
Choosing the best soil
Tomatoes like well-draining, nitrogen-rich soil. This means extra compost, blood-meal or crushed eggshells will make them happy. You want to make sure they have a steady source of calcium carbonate throughout the growing season, which is exactly what eggshells are made up of!
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.
That means a conservative estimate for the total number of tomatoes harvested during the season would be over 400 tomatoes, or roughly 100 tomatoes per plant. If you grow tomatoes the way I do, it's safe to bet on getting at least 100 tomatoes off your plants within four to five weeks during your peak season.
Pruning, or selectively removing some of the tomato plant growth, can improve harvestable yields and prolong the harvest season. Further, keeping tomato plants off the ground reduces common fungal diseases like early blight, Septoria leaf spot, and anthracnose, and improves fruit quality.
Choose between nylon string or garden twine. Both options are weatherproof, but only certain types of twine are biodegradable. Sisal, hemp and cotton twine are compostable as long as they're untreated. You'll need to collect nylon at the end of the season.
Removing a few lower leaves that have started to turn yellow or have been half eaten by a slug is a good idea. It helps to keep plants healthy by not giving insects and germs decaying leaves to feed on and helps create more air flow around the base of the plants.
First, never plant tomatoes (or potatoes) in the same soil two years in a row. Their presence attracts root knot nematodes, which are not a problem the first year, but as their population builds in the second year, the plants suffer and often die.
1> Promotion of Vegetative Growth: If you pinch off flower heads early in the growing season, it can redirect the plant's energy towards vegetative growth, such as developing a stronger root system and more robust foliage. This can lead to a healthier and more productive plant in the long run.
As a general rule, I will trim at least several branches off both determinate and indeterminate tomatoes, so that the lowest several inches of the stems are bare. Trimming around the base of the plants limits the spread of disease and maximises air flow through the foliage, both of which are important for plant health.
So if you bought a tomato that says "bush", "patio", or "determinate", you don't really need to prune your plant at all.
If you're wondering how to increase flowering in tomatoes, try increasing how much light they receive. Tomatoes need eight hours of daylight to flower. Sunlight gives your tomato plants the energy to produce fruit, so if your plant doesn't have enough sunlight, you're less likely to see tomatoes fruiting.
Indeterminate tomatoes can have from one to as many as four stems. The fewer the stems, the fewer but larger the fruit, and the less room the plant needs in the garden. For a multi-stemmed plant, let a second stem grow from the first node above the first fruit.