Any tomato pros out there? Questions from a novice!

[GardenWoes231]

Hi all

First time growing tomatoes in a greenhouse and loving it! Spotted my first two tomatoes yesterday so it’s very exciting!

Question 1 is - I’ve been removing side shoots really well but I was working away all week and my husband didn’t spot one. It’s grown near the base of one of my tomatoes (nearly 4/5ft tall) but I can straight away spot that it has flowers and will therefore have fruit. At this stage when fruits are starting to form can’t I leave this on the plant? Especially as it is near the base where no other fruit will be growing?

Question 2 - my greenhouse plants are lovely and large and I’m very proud of them but am I right in thinking that all of the growth so far will not bear any fruit? So tomatoes will only form on new trusses growing now? Worried about how large they will need to be to get a decent crop I guess!

Question 3 - I’ve got a bottle of tomatorite - can anyone explain in simple terms how often I should use on my greenhouse crops and when? The instructions are not clear!

I think that’s all but there’s probably more!

Thanks

I never grew toms in a greenhouse, only outdoors but to answer some questions:

1 large side shoot is ok, I often left the base one outdoors to get a longer season and to have a back up if the tip of the plant breaks off (storm, cats jumping over the fence)

flowers appear in the 'elbows', you might have been too quick to remove side shoots.

plant food: I gave a feed once a week once fruit starts to set, follow the dilution instruction on the bottle.

@orangeshoebox I was really worried I was too keen with my side shoot savaging! I’ll leave them a wee bit longer from now on. Darn!
I’m worried we’re going to have a pitiful crop but realise this is probably irrational!

It's not desperate that you remove side shoots. It's just that you end up with a tangle of plants and it's difficult to reach in and pick tomatoes. And it may reduce the crop, because the plant is putting more effort into leaves than fruit - that's the theory. But something I'm realising is that most gardening advice is from people learning their gardening in big multi-gardener gardens, and who need to get optimum yields. You can cut a lot of corners and still get a worthwhile crop - indeed you can actually get better results overall than trying to do it "properly" and neglecting something else ... because you're trying to fit in gardening on top of your busy life, you're not doing it as your main activity.

Also, there are two sorts of tomatoes - there's the tall ones that need side shoots removing because they go on growing from the tip (I think these are "indeterminate"), and there's "determinate", which grow more bushily, and you leave all the side shoots on. You need to check which you have. Most tomatoes sold "for patio pots" will be the bushy sort.

@meredint thank you for your advice. You’re so right about the general advice, sometimes it’s so much better to get advice from someone who actually grows them in a greenhouse as a novice - not a pro gardener if that makes sense!

We’ve definitely got indeterminate, I grew them from seed. I am intrigued by the bushier types - going to get some next year!

Thank you for your advice I am going to let them grow a touch more wildly now and hope for a bumper crop!

another thing - you can put an aspirin tablet in a spray bottle with water and spray the foliage. that encourages flowers and protects against blight (not 100% protection but makes the plant stronger)
I also remove all leaves below the fruits to allow air & light.
Idon'thave toms this year as I moved house but will for certain again next year. it allows me to grow varieties that you can't easily buy.

orange - do you have trouble with blight in a greenhouse? I've never found it a problem. But maybe that's because I'm further north.

orange you worried me about your comment about the flowers appearing in the elbows (I've tried pinching out for the first time this year, and like woes I worried I'd pinched out a truss), so I went out and looked ... they don't. What appears from the axils where the leaf joins the main stem is sideshoots, and can safely be pinched out. The flowers appear from the stem between the leaves, ie the internodes - OK, a bit nearer the leaf below than the leaf above, but definitely not in the axil.

@MereDintofPandiculation that’s a relief! Thank you.
I noticed one of mine today has absolutely covered in side shoots near the base so I’m going to leave them just on one plant as an experiment I can test (only on the base). Then next year I can decide which is best!