Last year I was introduced to the concept of pruning tomato plants. The suggestion came from a fellow gardener when we were having dinner at her house and I expressed my awe at her amazing tomato yield. She suggested I prune the plants, which was something I had never considered. This news was received too late in the season for those tomato plants (which, you might remember, were ravaged by a large rodent anyway), but I resolved to try in 2010.
Before
If you look at your tomato plants, you'll see many green shoots that don't have blossoms attached, and those are the ones that can be safely plucked off. By removing this greenery the plant has more energy to give to the blossoms, and eventually the fruit, which should, in theory, produce a higher yield.
I'm no expert. Like I said this is the first year I'm trying it, so I'll report back my findings. I'm also staking some tomato plants for the first time instead of caging them all.
After
In other garden news:
- we have been in snap pea heaven for over a month now and there are still many, many more to be picked and eaten
- being first-time potato farmers this year has made us anxious to know what's going on underneath all those leaves, so we plucked one and found two little new potatoes, which were roasted and eaten. yum.
- for the first time ever we are having success growing carrots. hooray!
Posts
7 comments:
oh my goodness - you must share your carrot growing secrets of success because I, along with everyone else I know, have no success at growing them!! Great job.
I had never thought of pruning my tomatoes either. I think I will go give it a try tomorrow and see how it turns out. Thanks for the tips. I can't wait to see how the new diaper bag turns out, you're incredible.
Just stoppin' by from TGP. Looks like a good start to your harvest. I'm thinking of adding carrotts to our garden next year. happy gardening!
a Latte with Ott, A
Great tip on pruning tomatoes.
And that is a healthy home-grown carrot. Great to have success!
Thanks for the tomato tip. I wish my carrots looked like yours. What's your secret? Do tell.
Your garden plants look terrific--thank you for the informative garden update!
Athena at Minerva's Garden
http://www.minervasgarden.com
looks like you're going to have to do a post on carrot planting secrets. ;-)
I've never wanted to spend the time pruning and staking tomatoes, but maybe I'll pick one or two plants...
Thanks for joining the Tuesday Garden Party this week!
Post a Comment