Grassing tomatoes in a greenhouse and open field: schemes and rules for beginners

Grazing is one of the most important measures for the correct cultivation of tomatoes in a greenhouse and open field. It is thanks to the removal of stepchildren that you can get the earliest and maximum harvest of tomatoes.

About what is pinching of tomatoes, what is it for, as well as when and how to properly remove stepchildren from tomatoes - read on.

What is tomato pinching and what is it for

Let's start from the very beginning: stepchildren are lateral shoots that grow from the axils of the leaves.

Accordingly, pinching is the removal of these shoots (stepchildren).

So why pinch the tomatoes? Is it possible not to do this?

The fact is that in a short summer, pinching is a necessary measure, in other words, without removing the stepchildren, the tomatoes simply will not give a good harvest, instead you will get a lush green bush with a very small number of fruits (and most of them will not have time to ripen yet).

Thanks to pinching, tomatoes do not spend extra energy on forcing useless shoots, but direct them to the formation and pouring of fruits. In addition, due to this procedure, the bushes are better illuminated and blown out, which means that their yield increases and the likelihood of catching any fungal disease due to excessive thickening is minimized.

Of course, if you live in the South of Russia, where the warm period is long enough, then you can do without pinching, but you will hardly be able to get the most. On the other hand, in the open field, as a rule, undersized (determinate) tomatoes are grown, which do not need such frequent pinching.

Important! Just do not confuse stepchildren with flower brushes and do not leave yourself without a part of the harvest, although this is still difficult, but possible. So, stepchildren are shoots that grow precisely between the main trunk and a complex leaf (branch) of a tomato + they always have their own leaves. Whereas flower clusters appear precisely on the branches of tomatoes (compound leaves) or on the main trunk, and they do not have their own leaves.

Which tomatoes require constant pinching, and which do not (more precisely, less frequent)

Tomatoes are divided into indeterminate (with unlimited growth) and determinant (with limited, they are also called undersized).

By the way! The site has detailed articles about what are indeterminate tomatoes, their best varieties, formation rules, and features of cultivation and varieties of determinant tomatoes.

Indeterminate tomatoes should be pinned without fail and, moreover, regularly, and, as a rule, they are grown in 1 stalk, which means that they do not leave any stepsons.

But determinant tomatoes, as a rule, have to be pinned much less often, although superdeterminant (the same standard) tomatoes often do not need pinning at all.

Important! Nonetheless, to get the maximum yield, determinant tomatoes also need to be properly formed, for example, in a greenhouse, in 2-3 stems. This means that you will have to leave certain stepsons, namely 1-2 of the lowest ones, and mercilessly destroy the rest (upper ones). Moreover, on these stems you should further remove the formed stepsons.

When can you leave stepsons

It happens that you did not follow your stepson and a flower brush instantly formed on him, in this case you can not remove it (especially if there are not very many ovaries on your bush), but leave it, pinching the top of its head after 1-2 leaves.

You also need to leave stepchildren (just below the first flower brush) if you plan to form a bush into several stems. What we will talk about further and in more detail in a separate material on shaping tomatoes.

When to pinch tomatoes

The main thing when pinching tomatoes is regularity performing the procedure.

Need to step son duringsince if you allow the outgrowth of the stepsons, then their it will be more difficult to remove (because the stems thicken). But the most harmful thing is that they will take nutrients from the bush (especially the lower stepsons), while their destruction will allow you to direct all your strength and nutrition to fruiting.

If you do not do this on time, then the bush will simply thicken, it will lack not only food, but also sunlight, and due to poor ventilation, it can also pick up various fungal diseases.

Thus, it is especially important to regularly get rid of stepchildren during periods of fruit formation and development.

When to carry out pinching of tomatoes?

You will have to start pinching already 2 weeks after planting tomatoes in a greenhouse or open ground and until the end of the season (harvest).

As for a certain point, it is recommended to start pinching after the stepson grows 4-5 cm in length.

If you allow stepchildren to grow up to 7-10 cm or more, then this will noticeably weaken the growth point and the whole plant as a whole, in other words, nutrients will be consumed in idle. In addition, you will have too large a wound, which again will contribute to rot.

Moreover, it is better to do this in the morning, so that the wound has time to close (tighten) until the evening.

The main thing is not to do this in damp and humid weather, otherwise the hemp may begin to rot. If you break them off completely, then everything will be fine.

As for the frequency of this extremely necessary event, then most often they do pinching once every 5-7 days (i.e. every weekend).

How to pinch tomatoes correctly: answers to frequently asked questions

What the same way it is better to remove stepsons tomatoes - break out hands or prune scissors?

In principle, both ways have the right to life, but when choosing a specific method, you should first take into account growing conditions for your tomatoes:

• If you are growing tomatoes in a greenhouse where conditions are not very favorable - the plantings are thickened, the humidity is high, and the temperature is low enough, then the stepsons are better break out by hand (and completely, without leaving hemp).
• On the contrary, if favorable conditions - the plantings are not thickened, the greenhouse is dry enough, well ventilated and warm enough in it, then you can trim with scissors.

Why under unfavorable growing conditions it's better to break the stepsons with your hands?

The main advantage of breaking with your hands is to minimize the risk of transmitting viral diseases. The fact is that when you cut off your stepchildren with scissors, the plant sap remains on them, which means that you can simply transfer the virus from one infected tomato to all other healthy bushes, thereby infecting them.

A logical question arises: “Why does the infection remain on scissors and is transmitted, but on the hands, including when breaking out using nails - no?»

The fact is that on the skin of the hands there is a huge amount of enzymes that destroy viral particles, including lactic acid, which acts very destructively on them.

The next even more logical question: “And if disinfect the scissors after trimming every bush? "

Yes, this is the way out, so the virus will not pass. For example, you can dip (or sprinkle) scissors in a strong solution of potassium permanganate (or even better, add a few drops of vinegar or another acid, the same citric), hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine, as well as medical alcohol or regular cologne.

Why it is considered that it is better to just leave a small stumprather than breaking out the stepson completely?

The fact is that when you completely break out the stepson, a wound surface is formed in the axil of the sheet, from which new stepsons will appear again in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to leave small stumps so that the shoot cannot grow back.

On the other hand, leaving the hemp often leads to the development of gray rot. Therefore, when growing tomatoes in unfavorable conditions, it is better to break the stepsons with their hands completely.

How long the stump is optimally leave?

Recommendations for the length of the stump left are very different: some say that you need to leave 2-3 mm, others - 5 mm, and some - 1 cm.Thus, you can come to the conclusion that if you leave a stump, then it should be not more than 1 cm, but also not less than 2-3 mm. 

Video: correctly pinching tomatoes - cut or break out

Are there any features of pinching in a greenhouse and open field

There are no peculiarities of pinching (removal of stepsons). Another thing is that there are significant differences in the cultivation of determinant (as a rule, they are grown in the open ground) and indeterminate tomatoes (more often in greenhouses), more precisely,in their formation (leaving certain lower stepchildren - future stems).

Formation of tomatoes

Grassing is only part of such an important procedure as the formation of tomato bushes, which also includes pinching growth points, rationing brushes, and removing excess leaves.

Important! About, how to properly form tomatoes in a greenhouse and open field into one or more stems - read in this detailed article on the website.

Thus, now you know how to accelerate ripening and improve the yield of your tomatoes - they must be pinned. But this should be done on time and correctly, otherwise you can, on the contrary, harm, and not help, your tomato bushes.

Video: pinching tomatoes