The Great Tomato Experiment: Does Pruning Effect Fruit Quality?

[HeritageGoose13]

It probably depends on variety. Some do better pruned, others left alone. Just like with livestock, some need extra "fussing" and care and others need independence.

 

[hippiestink]

Got a hard rain today, which means the corn is gonna shoot up another three or four inches. Tomatoes might get some needed B vitamins from the rain. We will see what this does for the GTE.

 

[hippiestink]

Well I was right about the corn, and it seems that the plants that are fruiting have seen their fruits swell in size a bit with the clean rainwater. I'll keep an eye on them and see what the sudden burst of rainy weather means for the experiment. No watering today.

 

[hippiestink]

Light drizzle and new chickens today. Unpruned IR plants are putting out grape tomato sized fruits while the pruned RBSM and Roma plants are putting out larger produce than the unpruned versions (which aren't really producing at all). The pruned IR plant has smaller fruits but also started putting out fruit later.

 

[lazy gardener]

Your results may also vary according to where plants are spaced in that growing bed. You've got some intensive planting going on there. In my experience, even in a traditionally planted garden, the plants at the outside of each row or bed grow bigger than the ones in the middle, as they don't have to compete so much for water, nutrients, space, and most importantly, light.

 

[hippiestink]

Your results may also vary according to where plants are spaced in that growing bed. You've got some intensive planting going on there. In my experience, even in a traditionally planted garden, the plants at the outside of each row or bed grow bigger than the ones in the middle, as they don't have to compete so much for water, nutrients, space, and most importantly, light.

For me it's the exact opposite. The smallest plants are the ones in the very front, with the largest being in the middle tier. The middlemost plant (largest unpruned IR plant) is the biggest one.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Two types of branches on a tomato plant, the leaves for energy, and the production shoot, my name for it, now I remove bottom leaves so they are not touching the ground to avoid the blight than mulch with grass clippings, I prune out as much as the downward growing leaves as necessary for air circulation and to find the fruit easier, now here's your debate, prune out some of the fruiting branches gives you less tomatoes, but possibly larger, doesn't affect the flavor, I leave all mine because I like as many tomatoes as possible. Flavor is determined by variety, and the weather, hot years means sweeter tomatoes, cooler years makes for tasteless tomatoes, and blight will affect the flavor as well as it alters the ripening process, so pick the right variety and hope for hot weather and even rain.

 

[shortgrass]

I experiment with LST, low stress training...

It's more than just pruning, but TRAINING stems to go where they can utilize light and space...ie, I don't actually "prune", but twist the main growing stalk until I hear a slight 'snap', not breaking the stem, but just the phylum. Then bend the stem down to ground level and tie it down... This takes the main growing shoot down and lets the plant send growth hormones to the lower branches, where they can catch up to the top, and by the time the top is vertical again, all lower branches are even with the main shoot, essentially making 6 growing tops instead of just one.

The best benefit to it is not just increasing yield, but decreasing the likelihood of snapping a bush variety from being overweight at the top, and vining ones from getting 12'long. It " compacts" the whole plant...

Snapping the phylum increases water intake and thickens the stalk so it can hold the weight of the massive beefsteaks and big boys I prefer... Our winds snap them at every chance, so I need all the plants to stay close to the ground, bushy

* I should stress that this is done when they're seedlings, before setting flowers. Stem is still very pliable and easy it manipulate

 

[shortgrass]

For me it's the exact opposite. The smallest plants are the ones in the very front, with the largest being in the middle tier. The middlemost plant (largest unpruned IR plant) is the biggest one.

Me too... I garden bio-intensive, and the center is where the action is lol seems the beneficials and less transpiration and protection from the wind; its the eye of calm ha-ha

 

[hippiestink]

Good points everyone. Been gone due to a funeral but I'm back with info on the experiment.

All the branches are more or less the same height going in, so that was never a variable. As for varieties effecting flavor, again that's not the focus of the experiment. We're going straight just "pruning vs. not pruning", no special techniques or extra variables.

Did have to change my feeding schedule and soil pH a bit though. Broke off three tomatoes (one from the Roma and two from the RBSM) because of blossom end rot. Started feeding twice a week with a lower nitrogen organic fertilizer and started adding citric acid to the soil once every two weeks. After the BER showed up I tested the soil and too much calcium was getting bound up, causing it to be more basic than we were wanting. Also I was using a bit too much nitrogen in the fertilizer which I hear can also bind up calcium.

So I've made the necessary changes and they seem to be looking a little better. Got more fruits coming, mostly Roma and IRs.