Tomatoes are popular aromatic fruits. In order for you to be able to harvest plenty of it, tomatoes have to be thinned out. Find out what this means and how it works here.
Tomatoes are indispensable in the garden. They are delicious, aromatic and a refreshing in-between snack. Especially when harvesting, one or the other tomato likes to go straight into the mouth. A wonderful treat that cannot be compared to bought tomatoes. That's probably why most gardeners have at least one tomato plant in their garden.
To ensure that your plant also bears plenty of fruit, it must be thinned out regularly.
What is thinning anyway?
It is often the case that the tomato plants do not bear as much fruit as they actually could. It's not because of the variety, it's because you have to treat it properly.
Most tomatoes grow bushy. A big disadvantage, because the more leaves the plant has, the bushier it becomes and the less fruit it can produce, since it puts all its energy into the formation of leaves. We gardeners don't want a bushy tomato plant with small, puny tomatoes, but rather a fairly bare plant with large, juicy tomatoes.
This is why it's so important to thin out (also known as pinching) your tomato plant.
Thin out the tomato plant - That's how it's done
The tomato plant has shoots (also called stinging shoots) that form in the leaf axils. These are sterile and therefore completely unnecessary. So away with it. To do this, proceed as follows:
❶ Look for the so-called stinging shoots on your tomato plant and grab them between two fingers and simply snap them off.
❷ Larger side shoots must also be removed. To do this, simply move the side shoot back and forth a little until it breaks out on its own.
Once you've removed the unnecessary shoots, your tomato plant will go back to budding and putting all of its energy into it.
Important when cutting out tomatoes:
Never use scissors here. This can seriously damage your tomatoinflict When cutting, there is a higher risk that the plant will become infected with the tomato disease late blight.
➔ And one last tip:
Thinning is not a one-time thing, it has to be done throughout the season. Such miserliness keeps coming back