Clip off tomato tops now

People have been growing tomatoes for ages. These resilient plants will grow almost anywhere and do not require any special care but still if you want to enjoy a big harvest you need to follow certain rules. If you do, you increase the yield but also the size of tomatoes. Watering is very important yes, but clipping off suckers and tops is also very important. In this article, we shall focus on top clipping but also why tomato leaves curl sometimes.

Clip or not to clip?

Well, there are fans of both methods but the vast majority of gardeners is willing to do both as needed. Many people understand clipping as the removal of side shoots as well as the actual shortening of the plant – removing the top. Well, it is the same and you should do both. While clipping off the side shoots and suckers is done over a period of few months, the top should be only removed when the plant surpass the pole height. Spiral stakes are about 1.8 m tall and if the plant surpasses this height, you should clip the top off.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Removing top is beneficial

Yes it is. If you do not do that the plant would have to grow much taller to produce fruit on the top, and most likely the fruit would not have enough time to fully ripen. By removing the top the plant will have an extra strength to develop fruit on lower branches. All extra nutrients will go directly to the existing fruit. Clipping the top is very simple and you can use your hand to do that but you can also use garden shears of course.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

What about leaf curling?

The reason for tomato leaves curling is simple and it is clearly a problem with nutrition. If the top leaves curl, then it is most likely due to a lack of water. The plant curls top leaves to prevent water evaporation. We all know that tomatoes require abundant watering several times a week and water must reach the root system. Generally, about 15 litres per plant per week is required.

Source: https://prima-receptar.cz/take-si-uzivate-sezonu-rajcat/

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Preview photo: Radek Štěpán