Grow: Tomato Plant Suckers - What they are and how to get rid of them

Have you ever heard that you should pinch the suckers off of your tomato plants?

You want me to do what to the what on my tomato plants?

I know, I know, I said the same thing!

Well after some research I found out that suckers are extra branches that grow between the stem and the branch of tomato plants. They rarely produce any fruit and just "suck" the nutrients up and not use it towards producing. 

Now my dad (who I view as a master gardner) said that he never pinches suckers off. Partly because he doesn't feel like wasting time but also because he said he never sees much of a difference. I, on the other hand, need all the help in the garden as I can so off with their heads! I mean, suckers. 

The stem of the plant is the tall, vertical part and the branch is the horizontal part. The sucker you can see right there in between the two. I try to scan for them any time I'm in my "garden" and catch them when they're very little but this one I let grow for a good photo explination.

To remove them, just grasp it as close to the stem/branch corner as you can, pinch it between your fingers or nails and pull.

Try to break it all at once and not let it tear. But really, that's all you have to do and then you'll have that yummy-nostalgic-but-kinda-gross tomato plant smell on your hands. You'll thank me later.

I was simply so excited when I was pulling those suckers because I discovered a couple of teeny tiny roma tomatoes starting! 

Here they are just a few weeks later. It felt like months. The anticipation of harvesting food from my little garden was ridiculous! I have since gotten two more romas but not much else. I have four roma plants and about five other tomato plants, some of which are grape and some are Big Boy but until they produce, I really don't remember which was which! Garden surprise!

This is my first year gardening on my own so I've definitely got a lot to learn! My poor little roma plants almost didn't make it because here in Drenchburg, sorry, I mean Lynchburg, it rained most of the summer! That was my first tomato plant lesson. Here are some of the others. 

1. Tomato plants don't like a lot of water.
2. Drainage is key.
3. They love a lot of sunlight.
4. Pinch those suckers.
5. One plant per pot.
6. Make sure those pots are big!
7. They take a lot of nutrients so be sure to have good soil, compost or fertilizer!

What are some of your tomato growing tricks? What's your favorite tomato to grow and why?

Till next time,

Catherine

I've linked up to The Homestead Barn Hop #125 with The Prairie Homestead!

I've linked up to Green Thumb Thursday (8/29/13) with The Untrained Housewife!

Weekend and Winning

All last week Brian was gone at Studentz Camp for work and this was the first year I was unable to go! This year it was held in Harrisonburg, Virginia at James Madison University, so almost 2 hours away from us, instead of at Liberty University in Lynchburg. It was sad to not be able to work camp but also very quiet and boring at home alone. He came home very tired but he had lots of awesome stories to share.

As soon as he came home, we got back into the car and drove out to Richmond to visit our families. It was a blast, as usual, but also exhausting, as usual.

Friday evening was spent with my family, gardening and playing with my 2 year old niece. Check out all the green veggies we harvested!

We got all of this on Friday evening. I even strapped on a headlamp to finish getting all those green beans because it got dark too quick!

The watermelon had some claw marks...we're guessing from a squirrel. Otherwise it was fine! Very heavy and perfectly shaped!

What a good harvest!

But that's not all!

Saturday morning we got back out to the garden because we knew we didn't get everything. It must be the Year of the Cucumber because we are up to our eyeballs in cukes! Yet tomatoes aren't ripening and when they do, they either rot or get eaten. Anyone else having these issues?

Those are some huge cucumbers! We're trying to give them away to friends and neighbors but everyone seems to have cucumbers out the wazoo!

I also helped out in my in-laws' garden on Saturday evening but I didn't get any pictures. My mother-in-law had just picked all the goodies before we arrived. Although we did get plenty of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and regular tomatoes.

All in all, a fantastic weekend of gardening, catching up with friends, and spending quality time with family. The way it should be!

Oh right...you're probably wondering where the "winning" part of the post title comes in. Well I entered a contest to win one pound of red wiggler worms for my worm farm and I won!!! I never win anything! The contest was put on by Swan's Organics. They're a company out in California that has all things gardening and composting! I'm excited to get my new worms and put them in with their new little family. "Little" may be the wrong word as they double their population every 3 months. I started with 500 worms in April and it's now almost August. You do the math! Because I suck at math, that's why.

What's your garden producing this week? How was your weekend?

Till next time,
Catherine