” Pinching Out ” Tomato Side Shoots : Looking after your growing Tomatoes

Just a quick video showing the simple but necessary task of pinching out the side shoots of the growing tomato plants to promote tall upright growth. This is done with tall or “Cordon” varieties to promote upright tall growth but you don’t do it on Bush varieties. Simply you just remove the small shoots growing at 45 degrees to the main stem which appear in the elbow between the stem and the leaf branches. Using your finger and thumb just pinch the shoot and remove. You need to do this when they are quite small otherwise if you let them get too big you can leave a scar on the stem and let in disease and mould. So just keep nipping them out as you see them and you’ll have a healthier plant. Be careful however towards the top of the plant as you can sometimes mistake the growing tip for a side shoot if you’re not too experienced. Better to leave the top few leaves until you’re sure they are sideshoots.