Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Growing tomato's in the ground I have always pruned all the "sucker" leaves and those below the fruit and buds. Works well in those situations. I have also seen many people prune them in AP systems. I am wondering if anyone has done a side by side study in AP on pruned and non pruned tomato's. In regular gardening there is an obvious limited suply of nutrients so the "suckers" steal what could go into the fruit, but in most AP systems there is an abundance of nutrients. Any thoughts???


thanks


MM

Havent had my system running long enough to grow tommys successfully, but another consideration would be the lack of air flow if no pruning takes place, possibly leading to pests and disease.

true...but also cutting into the flesh of a plant when pruning opens it up for disease too... I'm sure when mine get growing well i'll do a little side by side study...just wondering if anyone has already?

Pruning tomatoes as you desribe... is almost universal in hydroponic operations....

And especially so in greenhouse situations... where it not only serves to promote growth/fruiting... but importantly... opens out the plant for ventilation and control of mildew and other pests/diseases...

It also reduces transpiration losses...

I let the suckers grow until fruit forms then take off all the leaves of the sucker. Keeps plant open but increases yeilding fruit flowers.

I pruned about a wheelbarrow load of leaves and shoots off my two greenhouse AP tomatoes the other day. I can now see the growbed surfaces.
These two are still green and strong, where the 16 in wicking tubs in the other side of the greenhouse are yellowing and nearly finished
Pruning helps the plants if they are growing wildly

depends on the tomato plant. There are 2 types. Determinate and indeterminate. Indeterminate are the ones that produce most tomatoes and those definitely have to be pruned for maximum fruiting. If you don't prune suckers the plant won't fruit well.

If you look at hydroponic tomato farms they prune their tomato plants for a long time and the main stem gets very very long. Lots of fruits.

I dont prune only because i never thought about it as I get way too many off them all the time we have to end up throwing the extras into the compost

I just keep putting in more blue string to hold them up and all the leaves just fall off themselves and the worms in the GB's eat the dead leaves but I dont have a problem with mildew as I have mine in the open even through the plants are planted close together...

Defintely prune indeterminants...

Hi there missionaryman, I was wondering which leaves were the "sucker leaves"? Also, when you prune below the flower and the buds, do you mean you just prune all of the leaves on that stem that the flower is growing on ? Or do you use the flower as a marker and prune all of the leaves below that level? Thanks for any advice I can get, I am a complete gardening noobie as you might be able to tell ;P

The sucker leaves are those that branch between a leaf and the main stem....

Prune all leaves below a fruit truss... like this...

I do as Rup described, but I also just hack away at anything that's out of control and growing where I dont want it.

I've haven't had any trouble with disease as a result of cutting, or even just breaking stems and peeling lengths of stem as a result.

I suspect that the reason middle aged men in western countries grow tomatoes is because they are indestructible. (Tomatoes, not middle aged western men)

And if you hack off an existing stem, a new stem will grow from a lower node as long as you dont hack too low.

Indestructible*




*diseases and problems I'm yet to encounter not included. Actual reality may differ from that depicted.

Thanks Rupe and Bulwinkle. Does it make a difference how to prune depending on whether the tomatoes are the vine type or the bush-plant type?

Yes, and no... it's usually down for indeterminant varieties... i.e those that require staking....

But I've done it, to some extent....with "bush" varieties as well.... more to allow air circulation and prevent disease.. as Bull mentioned...