How to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse, the need for the event, basic methods of planting
Growing vegetables in closed soil conditions of greenhouses or greenhouses requires special knowledge and skills from the vegetable grower. This is due to the fact that when using limited space, plants need to create optimally comfortable conditions for growth and fruiting.
When growing tomatoes, one of the obligatory techniques is to remove lateral plants from the plant. shoots, it is they who are usually called stepchildren. Let's try to figure out how to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse and how obligatory this event is or is it just a tribute to tradition?
Content:
- Why do you need to plant tomatoes and what happens if you skip this event?
- How to remove shoots from greenhouse tomatoes correctly
- Removing stepsons from tomatoes with limited and unlimited growth
Why do you need to plant tomatoes and what happens if you skip this event?
When growing a tomato, in addition to the main stem, several additional stems are formed and the plant most often grows in a bush form. In addition, side shoots from the axils of the leaves, the so-called stepsons, can form on each stem. In turn, additional branches will appear on the stepchildren.
It is believed that removing the stepsons will strengthen the main stems and properly form the bush. For greenhouses, it is optimal to grow tomatoes with one, two, or three stems.In addition, tomatoes from which the shoots are removed on time will bloom somewhat earlier than expected and the crop will also ripen earlier than prescribed by the varietal characteristics, and the fruiting period will also be extended.
Stepchildren need to be removed on time. For greenhouses tomato removal of additional shoots must be done once a week. The size of the removed stepson should not exceed 5 - 7 cm. If time is lost and the shoot has exceeded this size several times, then it is better not to remove it, because the plant has already spent energy on it, and a wound on the stem can weaken the bush.
If you do not remove excess shoots from tomatoes in closed ground at all, this will worsen the lighting of the lower part of the plant, increase the load on the bushes and lead to their growth, which will negatively affect the harvest. But one of the main goals of producing tomatoes in a greenhouse is to prolong fruiting and increase the yield from a small area, which leads to the efficient operation of the greenhouse structure.
Important! When planning to plant tomatoes indoors, immediately decide on the number of main trunks, inspect the bushes weekly, removing all unnecessary stepsons.
Taking into account the fact that the first stepsons may already be on the tomato seedlings, as soon as two weeks have passed after planting, you can carry out the first procedure to remove them. Thus, in order to avoid uncontrolled growth of tomato bushes in a greenhouse, the stepsons must be removed in a timely manner before they are overgrown and their removal does not lead to damage to the plant. We will try to figure out whether the plant needs to be prepared for the procedure or removed stepsons possible at any time.
How to remove shoots from greenhouse tomatoes correctly
No special preparatory work is required before removing excess shoots from tomatoes. Perhaps the procedure will be easier if the bushes are well watered for 10 - 12 hours. In order for the wound from the removed stepson to dry in the light during the day, it is better to remove them in the morning.
Video on how to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse:
You can remove stepsons in two ways:
- manually, without using tools
- using a knife or scissors
In the first case, no additional equipment is required, except for a bucket for collecting removed shoots and gloves to protect your hands from plant sap. All excess and unnecessary stepsons are removed by simply pinching one centimeter from the main stem. It is necessary to leave part of the stepson in order to avoid a wound on the main stem and delay the appearance of a new shoot in this place.
In the second case, you will need very sharp scissors or a knife. You will also need a solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect the instrument. The use of scissors can facilitate the procedure and reduce its time. You need to cut the stepson in one motion.
An important point for growing tomato in a greenhouse is the selection of varieties and although the basic method for removing additional shoots is the same, you can still plant tomatoes with limited and unlimited growth in different ways.
Removing stepsons from tomatoes with limited and unlimited growth
How to remove shoots - stepsons from a tomato with limited growth
Growing determinate hybrids and varieties of tomatoes in greenhouse conditions is most profitable if the plant has one stem, since in this case the tomato crop can be harvested a couple of weeks earlier than when grown with several stems.
Therefore, it is necessary to remove excess shoots from the first weeks and carry out this procedure radically, not sparing the green shoots. After all, a tomato can grow in a greenhouse for at least four to five months, and without removing the shoots, the main forces of the plant and nutrients from the soil will go to the green mass.
However, in this case, one shoot under the first inflorescence must be left so that growth does not stop completely. As soon as leaves and several inflorescences appear on this shoot, its top is pinched off. You also need to take care of a backup escape and leave stepson, which extends from the leaf axil under the second or third inflorescence.
Removing stepsons from indeterminate tomato varieties in greenhouses
In a tomato with unlimited growth, the formation of a flower cluster at the end of the shoot does not mean the end of growth, and when grown into one stem, all stepsons must be removed. When the plant forms a flower cluster at the top of the shoot, and this happens above the ninth leaf, the stepson begins to grow from the axil of the leaf closest to the inflorescence.
When a brush with buds appears on it, the stepson begins to grow again from the axil of the top leaf. This continues throughout the entire growing season. Since the goal of growing vegetables in a greenhouse is to obtain a harvest, not green mass, stepchildren greenhouse tomatoes are required during the growing period.
