Tomato Notes. Part 2

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

For a tomato grower newbie, every word is like a great discovery. "Stepsons", "vershkovanie" … What to do with these new acquaintances, let's try to figure it out together

Time to remove stepchildren

We found out what “stepchildren” are in “Tomato Notes. Part 1 . Now let's figure out when they should be broken off, if you see that the plant cannot feed all the lateral shoots that want to revive the world with their appearance.

Considering that not only tomato stems have limitations, but the Russian summer is also limited by the warm period, you should not follow the lead of life-loving plants. Otherwise, the branchy bushes will not have time to feed all the ovaries before the frost arrives, and therefore the harvest will be deplorable.

Therefore, you have to use force and break out, yes, that is, break it out with your hands, and not cut off the extra side shoots with scissors or a knife, leaving only a small "stump" from them. Such a barbaric action should be carried out in the morning to enable the plant to quickly heal its wounds.

If you have correctly assessed the abilities of your pets, then the execution should be started as early as possible, when the stepsons are still small. Firstly, such babies have not yet had time to take away many nutrients from the plant. Secondly, the wounds from the procedure will be small, heal faster, preventing the pests from taking advantage of the moment.

Tomato shaping

A month before the last harvest, a more effective execution of a tomato bush is carried out, if such a number of fruits ripen on its branches that only the plant can feed. The top of the bush is cut off. Such a procedure is humanely called "vershkovanie". It helps to direct all the forces of the plant to the ripening of already poured fruits, without wasting energy on something that will not have time to reach the condition in time.

Danger of frost

The night frosts themselves are not so terrible as the first rays of the sun that appear over the garden the next morning. Frost acts on plant cells, damaging their shell, and the sun's rays complete the picture, evaporating moisture from the leaves, thereby drying them out.

Such trouble can be helped by using a watering can, which finely sprays water. After that, the tomato seedlings should be covered with a water-permeable material that can also scatter the hot sun's rays.

Do not cover plantings with plastic wrap, which can provoke steaming of plants, which will lead to their death.

If the frost has managed to do its insidious business, do not rush to remove the seedlings. After a week, the plant can revive from low-lying stepchildren, or from a stem located below the soil surface. Of course, the harvest from such winners will be belated, but it will certainly be, while the seedlings removed by your impatient hands will definitely not yield any harvest. Plants, like heroic people, often give amazing examples of courage, resilience and boundless love of life.

Bifurcation of the stem

If there is insufficient illumination in a well-heated greenhouse, then such a combination of two important indicators for the growth and development of a plant can provoke a bifurcation of the stem.

This is due to the intensive growth of a powerful podcyst stepson, who is able to take with him a leaf that has sheltered him in his bosom, like the fox familiar to us from childhood, who drove a hare out of his own bast hut.

Most often, such a thriving stepson will not give a viable flower cluster, therefore, one should not expect a harvest from him, although he will take a lot of nutrition from the main stem.

What to do with a freeloader? If the whole plant is strong, then the second stem can be left by pinching it after the appearance of the flower brush and securing it with an additional trellis so that it does not come off the bush under the weight of the harvest. With a weak plant, it is more expedient to remove the second stem without relying on the Russian "maybe".