1 day Ago By Emilia Randall
If you’re noticing a lot of green on your tomato plant and not the bursts of red you want around the summer months, these three simple tips may land you with more fruit than ever before. There are two types of tomato plants: determinate tomatoes which only produce fruit once a year - these are meatier and large - and indeterminate tomatoes which can produce multiple flourishes of fruit. It is the indeterminate tomato plant you are likely to have in your back garden - meaning if you play your cards right you can harvest multiple rounds of the fruits.
James Prigioni from The Gardening Channel With James Prigioni has shared his top tips, which are as easy as anything, to maximise your plants’ output. The expert gardener said that with the right care and attention, your tomatoes "will continue to grow and produce fruit all season." His "number one tomato hack for higher production" is to grow tomatoes on stakes or vertically.
This is perfect for small places he notes, saying a “healthy tomato plant can grown six to eight feet tall.” Growing tomatoes on stakes is the best way to fit a lot of plants into a small area. James uses bamboo stakes and old cotton shirts to tie them to the stakes and says this works “perfectly.
” The next tip is to prune the suckers or shoots. Do you see a shoot coming out with a third prong or ‘“topper” looking like the beginning of a new plant? It’s time to prune it - and it’s best to nip these in the bud as early as possible. James says you can do this easily by folding the shoot one way and the another until it snaps off - no need to be precious.
Pruning stops the plant getting too bushy and developing any fungal issues, and keeps it growing upwards. If a sucker gets too big - it’s best to cut off with pruners by slicing it. Fear not, this doesn’t have to be the end - you can stick it in the ground and it will root out as another plant.
If you take leaves off, put a stick in the soil to create a hole for the growth and water it couple of times a day - and before you know it you will have another plant. The final tip is another emphasis on pruning. This time James highlights the need to prune leaves around the fruit itself and the leaves around the first set of fruit that grows.
This means that the fruit gets direct sunlight - giving good airflow and reducing risk of fungal disease and blight issues. It will also ripen your tomatoes to a beautiful red..
