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Many gardeners have heard that tomatoes need to be pinned, but they do not know at all how and when to do this. Even what a stepson is, not everyone knows. The article will discuss how to pinch tomatoes correctly and why you need it.
What are tomatoes
This vegetable came to Russia from South America. At this time, this culture is one of the most popular among all the peoples of the world. The tomato first came to Europe in 1519. It was then that the conquistador Fernando Cortes saw these fruits in the gardens of Montezuma and brought the seeds home. They began to grow as an ornamental plant.
In France, tomatoes are called "apples of love" - "pomme d'amour". This nation believes that the fruits of the tomato contain aphrodesiacs. In Latin, the tomato is called Lycopersicum esculent, which means "wolf peach" because it was considered poisonous in the seventeenth century and was forbidden to be eaten.
"Pomme d'amour"
The name of the fruit "tomato" came into Russian from the Spanish tomate, which at one time was taken from the ancient Aztecs, where the plant was called tomatl. They began to call the fruits of this culture a tomato, thanks to the Italian language, where the yellow varieties of the plant were called pomo d'oro, which meant "golden apple".
They began to grow tomatoes from Italy. At the same time, from the point of view of science, they should be classified as berries, but fruits are eaten as vegetables. In nature, there are about several hundred different varieties and types of tomatoes. There are very small fruits, the size of a cherry, called Cherry, and large, fleshy varieties such as Bull's Heart. Many of them people only saw in the picture.
By the color of the surface, tomatoes are:
- red,
- white,
- pink,
- orange,
- yellow,
- purple,
- green,
- chocolate.
Purple tomatoes
Among the wide variety of varieties, there are annuals and perennials.
Annual tomatoes include those that grow no more than one meter in height; buds grow on each branch instead of leaves. Tomatoes grow in a certain time, after they ripen, the stem dies.
Perennial tomatoes grow no less than three meters in height and curl on backwaters. These tomato varieties will bear fruit under favorable conditions until they freeze in the cold. Tomatoes ripen for a very long time, while the yield of such a crop is much higher.
What are stepsons
Young shoots that begin to grow and develop along with the first flowers are called stepchildren. Such processes compete with the main stem, and inflorescences begin to bloom on them. Many gardeners believe that this is even good, because with more flowers the yield increases. But this is a deep misconception.
The growth of additional stems thickens the garden, this, in the first place, increases the risk of fungal diseases. In addition, the appearance of a large number of fruits leads to the fact that the tomatoes are very small in size. There are some varieties of tomatoes that will not bear fruit without pinching.
For these reasons, this operation must be treated with full responsibility.The first stepson begins to grow under the first inflorescence. It is the most powerful, so it should be left. All others that will grow later need to be cut off. This is especially necessary for those plants that are grown in the open field.
Tomato stepchildren
What tomatoes stepchild
There are three types of tomatoes, into which the plant is divided according to the degree of growth and development. Depending on this, you should know how to pinch tomatoes.
Determinant tomatoes are undersized plants. They continue to grow only until a certain number of inflorescences are formed on them. After that, they focus all their efforts on growing and ripening the tomato. It is recommended to leave several stepsons on these stems in order to increase the yield of varieties. In addition, in some regions it is practiced to grow this crop in several stems.
Stamp tomatoes practically do not release stepchildren, therefore, in most cases, they are not stepchildren at all. The reason is that even those processes that have appeared do not take nutrients from the main stem. Nevertheless, if you leave all the stepchildren that have grown in the lowest axils of the leaves, and remove everything that grow at the top, in this way you can achieve an increase in yield from one bush of the plant.
Standard tomatoes
Medium-sized determinant plants must be pinned, at the same time the very first stepson is left, so that the culture grows and develops in two stems.
Indeterminate tomato variety, tall, can surpass the height of the greenhouse in its growth. Together with the growth of the trunk, it continues to bloom. Therefore, you need to know how to remove stepchildren on tomatoes of this size. They should be pinned without regret, so that the culture grows in one stem. It is very important to do this, since each process requires a large amount of nutrients, while on each brush, which grows as the plant grows, the fruits will decrease in size. If you want to get all the fruits of almost the same size, then it is recommended to leave only two flowers on each inflorescence.
Tomatoes are giants, that is, hybrid varieties of tomatoes, are subject to even more brutal pinching. In most cases, hybrids are preferred to grow because they are immune to disease and can grow and develop under adverse conditions. It is customary for such tomatoes to cut off all the stepsons, leaving only two at the very top of the trunk. When the fruits have already formed, the leaves are cut in the same way to allow the tomatoes to receive more light and heat.
Tomatoes giants
Grasshopping greenhouse tomatoes
Tomato pickling in a polycarbonate greenhouse is carried out even in those varieties that grow low in the open field, can turn into real giants. Therefore, in such conditions, it is necessary to transfer the point of growth of culture. To do this, leave a few stepsons at the top of the stem and allow greenery to form. It should be borne in mind that the tomatoes on these branches will be smaller, but still they cannot be called small.
Why translate a growth point
There are varieties of tomatoes that grow small and form only four clusters with flowers, instead of the top they grow an inflorescence. In this case, it is necessary to translate the growth point. To do this, you need to leave the uppermost stepson, on which two more inflorescences will subsequently form. The only disadvantage in such an operation is the late ripening of the fruits.
How to pinch tomatoes correctly
The plant is covered in two ways:
- hands;
- with a sharp object.
When cutting stepsons with garden scissors, they must be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate in order to prevent infection with infectious diseases. If anyone does not know how to carry out the operation correctly, you should read the recommendations of Oktyabrina Ganichkina or subscribe to her page.
It is advisable to graze tomatoes gradually, since abrupt cutting of all stepchildren can harm the plant. Therefore, the removal must be done once, or even twice a week. Do not allow the beds to be overgrown with numerous branches. Thus, the extra shoots will compete with the main stem and take away all the nutrients from it, which will lead to a decrease in yield.
There are times when a new process grows from the sleeping kidney in the same place where the stepson was removed. It must also be removed. When working with tomatoes, you need to pay attention to the lower part of the bush, because after the inflorescences are formed, shoots appear. A similar process begins as a result of an excess of mineral fertilizers in the soil.
In some cases, the stepson is formed on the inflorescence itself, as if continuing it. In this case, it is necessary to remove it immediately, otherwise the tomato will bear fruit much later.
In late spring, early summer, the lower leaves should also be cut off. Thus, the wind will blow over the fruits. But you need to cut the leaves in the same way as the stepsons: two or three times a week, so as not to subject the plant to severe stress. Otherwise, the crop will get sick and its yield will decrease.
When to perform surgery
It is impossible to draw up a preliminary schedule for working with tomatoes, since it strictly depends on the weather conditions. On hot days, the operation is postponed to the evening. Thus, the cut site will have time to be covered with a thin film. In addition, in hot weather, tomato bushes already get a little stress, so they do not tolerate such processes well.
When it's rainy outside, this is the best time for pinching and pinching. At this time, it is recommended to remove not only the stepsons, but also the leaves so that the fruits are light, and the wind can blow them over and remove excess moisture. Also, the fruits are better warmed up by the sun's rays.
When growing tomatoes, it must be borne in mind that in those regions where the summer is much shorter, a large number of stepchildren must be removed. In this case, it is necessary to plant a larger number of culture bushes in the beds. Thus, a good tomato harvest can be harvested.
